Ohio State has now earned head-to-head wins over both of its top competitors for the Big Ten title.
Two weeks removed from an overtime win over then-No. 2 Iowa, Ohio State earned another top-10 win in front of its home crowd on Sunday as the eighth-ranked Buckeyes defeated No. 10 Indiana, 74-69, at the Schottenstein Center.
The game was tight down the stretch as Indiana made a late surge to come back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Ohio State held on for its ninth straight victory.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10 INDIANA | 11 | 26 | 10 | 22 | 69 |
| #8 OHIO STATE | 18 | 14 | 23 | 19 | 74 |
The dynamic duo of Jacy Sheldon (25 points) and Cotie McMahon (20 points) led the Buckeyes to victory, while Rebeka Mikulasikova and Taylor Thierry scored 11 points each.
Sara Scalia scored 25 points in defeat for the Hoosiers, but the Buckeyes limited Indiana star Mackenzie Holmes to only 14 points.
Ohio State moved to 19-3 on the season and 10-1 in Big Ten play with the win, keeping the Buckeyes in a tie with Iowa – with both teams now one game ahead of Indiana – for the lead in the conference standings. If the season ended today, Ohio State would be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament by virtue of its head-to-head win with the Hawkeyes, though Ohio State still has to play Iowa on the road in its March 3 regular-season finale.
The Buckeyes have now won nine straight games to start the 2024 calendar year.
First Half
The Buckeyes got off to a slow start offensively, making only two of their first 11 shots, but made all of their final five shots of the first quarter to take an 18-11 lead through 10 minutes. Holmes scored seven first-quarter points for the Hoosiers, but her teammates went just 2-for-8 from the field in the opening frame while the Buckeyes forced six turnovers.
A McMahon layup to start the second quarter gave the Buckeyes a 9-point lead, but Scalia responded with seven straight points by herself to cut the lead to two. A pair of steals and an and-one by McMahon built Ohio State’s lead back up to seven, but the Hoosiers responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 27-27.
Q2 | Back-to-back steals and an and-one for @cotiemcmahon23 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/wXGM8Zzdtv
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) February 4, 2024
Indiana finished the second quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 37-32 lead into halftime. Scalia led all first-half scorers with 11 points while McMahon led the Buckeyes with nine points before the break.
Second Half
Thierry and Sheldon combined for the first five points of the third quarter to quickly tie the game back up. After both teams traded a pair of buckets, McMahon gave Ohio State its first lead of the half with a spinning layup that made it 43-42 with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Q3 | OSU regains the lead thanks to @cotiemcmahon23 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8R7yT8MOx8
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) February 4, 2024
That sparked a run of 11 straight points by McMahon and Sheldon that gave the Buckeyes a 50-42 lead. After one Indiana make by Chloe Moore-McNeil, a Mikulasikova 3-pointer and a fast-break layup off a steal by Celeste Taylor gave Ohio State the game’s first double-digit lead.
Scalia, who scored 19 points in the first three quarters, cut Ohio State’s lead to eight with a three for the final points of the third quarter. Sheldon responded with five straight points to start the fourth quarter, giving the Buckeyes a 13-point edge.
After a three-point play by McMahon gave Ohio State a 14-point lead, Indiana responded with an 8-2 run to bring the deficit down to eight. Thierry put Ohio State back up by double digits with a three that gave the home side a 68-57 lead with just 3:03 left on the clock.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | INDIANA |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | POINTS | 69 |
| 27-60 (45%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 25-54 (46%) |
| 9-21 (43%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-16 (38%) |
| 11-16 (69%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 13-18 (72%) |
| 13 | TURNOVERS | 23 |
| 29 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 38 |
| 4 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 7 |
| 25 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 31 |
| 2 | BENCH POINTS | 0 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 10 | STEALS | 6 |
| 16 | ASSISTS | 13 |
The Buckeyes went scoreless for the next two minutes, allowing Indiana to cut the lead to five points. Sheldon broke Ohio State’s scoring drought with a layup to put Ohio State back ahead by seven with just 37 seconds left to play, but Yarden Garzon hit her second straight three on Indiana’s next possession to cut OSU’s advantage to 70-66 with 28.8 seconds remaining.
Sheldon made a pair of free throws on OSU’s next possession to give the Buckeyes a six-point cushion with 19.4 to play. Scalia made it a one-possession game with 16.3 seconds remaining by sinking three free throws after Taylor was called for a foul. Thierry made one of two free throws on Ohio State’s next trip down to the court to make it a two-possession game again with 14.9 to go.
Scalia missed a 3-pointer on Indiana’s next possession, ending the Hoosiers’ chances of winning the game.
Up Next
Ohio State will look to earn its 10th straight win when it plays at Minnesota on Thursday. The game against the Golden Gophers will tip off at 9 p.m. and will air on Peacock.
Game Notes
- Ohio State scored 21 points off of 23 Indiana turnovers. “That’s the game right there,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said.
- A crowd of 10,130 people attended Sunday’s game, the Buckeyes’ second-largest crowd of the season behind only their record-setting sellout crowd of 18,660 fans for the Iowa game.
- The Buckeyes have now lost since they fell to Michigan, 69-60, in a Dec. 30 road game.
- Ohio State is now 2-2 this season against ranked opponents. The Buckeyes lost to USC and UCLA in non-conference play.
