| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 12 | 8 | 16 | 27 | 63 |
| Michigan State | 18 | 26 | 28 | 10 | 82 |
INDIANAPOLIS — Ohio State's Big Ten Tournament title hopes ended the same way as its regular season title hopes – with a loss at the hands of Michigan State.
"They brought it tonight and we didn't," said Cait Craft after the game. "That's really all there is to it."
Ameryst Alston, who injured her right wrist in last night's matchup with Rutgers, started the game despite obvious discomfort. She was mostly ineffective, finishing scoreless and taking just one attempt in 10 minutes of action.
"She had a sprained wrist, and the doctors said she couldn't hurt it any further, so she wanted to give it a go – she's a tough kid," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff after the game.
Without Alston's contributions, Ohio State simply could not get the lid off the basket. The typically high-powered Buckeye offense managed just paltry 33 percent from the field and 4-for-21 from behind the arc.
"We hit some adversity with the injury to Alston, and we didn't handle it very well," said McGuff.
Even Kelsey Mitchell, who scored a Big Ten Tournament record 43 point the previous night against Rutgers, could not come to the rescue. Drawing all the defensive attention, Mitchell managed 18 points, but made just four field goals. The Buckeye star shot a modest 22 percent from the field and 2-for-12 from 3-point range.
The Buckeyes didn't quit though – the team outscored the Spartans 27-10 in the fourth quarter, led by Shayla Cooper who scored 14 of her 16 points in the fourth. But it was simply too-little too late – the hole was too deep to climb and Ohio State fell 82-63.
The Buckeyes will learn their NCAA tournament fate, Monday March 14th and won't begin tournament play until the following weekend. This gives Ameryst Alston two weeks to get back to full health, and it's clear her presence is desperately needed.
"I hope so," said McGuff on whether or not Alston will be at 100 percent come NCAA tournament time. "We'll obviously be very aggressive with her rehab and she gets a chance to get some rest. Sometimes it's hard to tell how it's going to react, but I'm certainly happy we have some time before the next game."
