No. 10 Ohio State Downs No. 22 Michigan, 78-71, in an Overtime Thriller

By Kevin Harrish on January 7, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Kelsey Mitchell
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The Buckeyes have another top-25 win this season, this time coming over their rivals to the north, as they downed Michigan in Ann Arbor, 78-71.

Team 1 2 3 4 OT Final
#10 Ohio State 24 6 17 17 14 78
#22 Michigan 18 11 18 17 7 71

Much of the game was a scoring duel between Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell and Michigan’s Katelynn Flaherty and Hallie Thome. Mitchell, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, had 37 points in the game, including nine in overtime, while the Michigan duo combined for 49.

The Buckeyes lit it up from the field to start the game, shooting a red-hot 56 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point territory, to take a 24-18 first-quarter lead.

The scoring slowed substantially in the second. Ohio State shot just 21 percent in the second, netting just six points, allowing Michigan to cut the halftime lead to just one as the Buckeyes led, 30-29.

The second half was a back-and-forth duel as the Buckeyes and Wolverines traded buckets until the end of regulation, when Mitchell’s layup tied the game at 64 and sent it to overtime.

Mitchell took over in overtime. Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer outscored Michigan by herself in the extra period, dropping nine points to lead the Buckeyes to a 78-71 victory.

With the win, Ohio State now has its third win over a top-25 team on the season, and improves to 15-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference.

The Buckeyes are next in action on Saturday at noon when they travel to take on Indiana. They’ll then face Michigan once again next Tuesday, hosting their rivals at 7 p.m. at Value City Arena.

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