Entering its Sunday matinee with Ohio State, Indiana had yet to turn the ball over more than 18 times in a game this season.
The No. 8 Buckeyes racked up 23 takeaways against the No. 10 Hoosiers.
There’s no mystery as to why. Ohio State’s press defense has been relentless all season and the Scarlet and Gray’s defenders put on a marquee performance during a 74-69 victory over Indiana, the team’s second top-10 win of the season.
“It’s aggressive. They’re very athletic, and that’s what they feed off of, their press and creating turnovers and causing turnovers and scoring,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “It wasn’t like we were surprised by it but we just didn’t handle it well today.”
Four Ohio State players recorded multiple steals. Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor had three each with Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry adding two apiece.
Ohio State is now averaging 21.1 takeaways per game, the most in the Big Ten and 18th-most in the country. Its turnover margin is even more impressive, up to 7.63 per game, passing Michigan State for No. 2 nationally and No. 1 in the Big Ten.
“I just thought we were much more energetic and aggressive in our press (today),” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “We turned Indiana over, or at least took them out of their rhythm, because they’re really hard (to defend).”
No stretch of press was more dominant for the Buckeyes than the third quarter. Indiana had more turnovers (11) than points (10) in that period.
Ohio State opened the frame on an 18-5 extended run including an 11-0 stretch that lasted two minutes and 18 seconds. The Buckeyes forced the Hoosiers to cough up the rock eight times during the extended run, in which Ohio State went from down 37-32 to up 50-42.
“Our defense led to offense, so we kind of got going there for a while, just everyone's effort,” Sheldon said. “Celeste had some really good plays, (Thierry), Cotie, everyone was flying around. And when we’re doing that it works really well.”
Ohio State went from down five at halftime to up eight entering the fourth quarter after outscoring Indiana 23-10 in the third period.
“We knew that Ohio State tends to be a very, very good third-quarter team, so we tried to prepare our guys for that, the aggressiveness that was going to come with the press,” Moren said. “The first four minutes, it just got away from us and I thought we lost our momentum. ... Twenty-one points off of our turnovers, that’s the game right there.”
Ohio State’s press created opportunities throughout the game. McMahon had one memorable stretch in particular during the second quarter. After getting the ball swiped from her by Indiana guard Lenée Beaumont, McMahon raced back up the court to pick the pocket of Sara Scalia, then ran back the other way and found Rikki Harris for an easy fastbreak layup.
Seconds later, McMahon intercepted a pass in the Hoosiers’ backcourt, flew to the rim and finished through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play.
Q3 | OSU regains the lead thanks to @cotiemcmahon23 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8R7yT8MOx8
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) February 4, 2024
“For two days against our scout guys, (our players) did a decent job (against the press), but it was still concerning because their pressure and Ohio State’s pressure is different,” Moren said.
McGuff also felt the ramped-up aggression of the press was necessary given Indiana’s execution in the halfcourt.
The Hoosiers’ MacKenzie Holmes is one of the best post players in the country, after all, averaging 20.1 points per game, second-most in the Big Ten. But she scored only 14 points against the Buckeyes.
“You just let them walk the ball up and execute, throw it into MacKenzie, they’re really hard to guard,” McGuff said. “So I thought we needed the press and in the third quarter we were just much better at it.”
It also helps that some of Ohio State’s pieces are getting more accustomed to the team’s style of defense, McGuff added. Namely Taylor, who transferred to Columbus from Duke this offseason after being named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23.
“It’s not an easy system to really grasp in one year,” McGuff said. “So I think each week she gets a little more comfortable. And I still think she’s got room to grow within it. So we’ll continue to push her and challenge her to get better.”
Ohio State will need its press to continue being a strength in the second half of Big Ten play. The Buckeyes have scooped up two top-10 victories in the past 15 days, beating No. 3 Iowa on Jan. 25 in overtime. On a nine-game winning streak, they are now tied atop the conference standings with the Hawkeyes.
The Buckeyes will look to extend that streak on the road against Minnesota on Thursday. They don’t plan on scaling back their defensive aggression anytime soon.
“The big games are fun, but I wouldn’t say we have a little game,” McMahon said. “The Big Ten is crazy difficult this season. So every game counts, every game matters and we’ve gotta give it our all every single game.”
