Ohio State has its third win of the season, cruising past Quinnipiac 95-63 thanks to a heavy dose of scoring from Kelsey Mitchell and Linnae Harper as the pair each had season highs in scoring, combining for 55 points and 21 of the team's 32 field goals.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #9 Ohio State | 28 | 18 | 19 | 30 | 95 |
| Quinnipiac | 18 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 63 |
Harper carried the team throughout the first quarter, scoring 12 of the team's 28, and Mitchell did the same in the second, scoring 10 of the team's 18 in the second.
On the game, Mitchell led the team in scoring, as usual, with 32 points, shooting 11-for-20 from the field and a red-hot 6-for-9 from three.
"6-for-9? Wow, that's good," Mitchell said after the game, learning the stat line for the first time. "I just got in one of those flows, one of those rhythms, but I didn't know it was 6-for-9."
Harper, meanwhile, had a career-high 23 points, shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 2-for-3 from behind the arc while also pulling down 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | QUINNIPIAC |
|---|---|---|
| 95 | POINTS | 63 |
| 32-71 (45% | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 21-73 (29%) |
| 8-31 (26%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 8-20 (40%) |
| 23-26 (88%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 13-21 (62%) |
| 16 | TURNOVERS | 14 |
| 55 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 40 |
| 17 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 16 |
| 38 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 24 |
| 11 | BENCH POINTS | 23 |
| 10 | BLOCKS | 4 |
| 7 | STEALS | 7 |
| 13 | ASSISTS | 12 |
"Linnae is playing at an all-time elite level right now," Mitchell said. "I hope it prolongs to the end of the season, because she deserves it. She's a really, really great player. She's always helping me out and I just want to kick it back to her whenever she's open or whenever she's having a field day. You've gotta reward her."
Though the final score might not indicate it, the Buckeyes weren't dominate at every moment of the game. Quinnipiac, a sweet-16 team last season, gave the Buckeyes fits at times with its passing and interior defense, and even held a six-point lead midway through the first quarter.
"We had some really good stretches tonight, and I thought we played hard throughout the game, but we had some stretches where we just mentally had lapses," Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said. "And when we did that, they made us pay."
One particular thing that seemed to bother the Buckeyes was Quinnipiac's platoon substitutions. The Bobcats would substitute four or five players at a time, which seemed to confuse Ohio State.
"When they come in with a platoon, the big thing is our kids have to have a sense of urgency about making sure they're getting matched up," McGuff said. "We didn't have great communication for stretches tonight, and that's a problem. Any time you give up a basket because you didn't talk, that's on you."
McGuff said some of that is due to the team's fast-paced schedule. The Buckeyes have played four games in a week, with one more in just two days, making practice and preparation challenging. McGuff said that was by design to challenge his veteran team.
"We have to push through that," McGuff said. "We have a veteran group who I have high expectations for. Even if we're off just a little bit, then it's not acceptable."
The Buckeyes are next in action on Sunday when they host Washington, McGuff's former team, at 11 a.m. in Value City Arena. It will be Ohio State's fifth game in nine days.
