An eight-day break between games didn’t slow Ohio State’s roll.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team won its 13th straight game on Thursday night at Penn State, earning an 82-69 road win over the Nittany Lions to improve to 23-3 on the season and 14-1 in Big Ten play.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 OHIO STATE | 26 | 11 | 27 | 18 | 82 |
| PENN STATE | 10 | 14 | 18 | 27 | 69 |
It’s the first time since the 2006-07 season – when the Buckeyes won their first 13 consecutive games of conference play – that Ohio State has won 13 straight Big Ten games in a single season. Ohio State won 16 straight games against Big Ten opponents between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, as the Buckeyes won their first eight conference games in 2009-10 after winning their final five regular-season games and all three of their Big Ten Tournament games in 2008-09.
With Iowa suffering its third loss of Big Ten play on Thursday night against Indiana, Ohio State now has a two-game lead in the conference and can clinch the outright regular-season Big Ten title by winning two of its final three regular-season games. The Buckeyes can clinch a share of the Big Ten title by winning just one of their final three regular-season games.
While Ohio State hadn’t played a game since its 80-47 win over Nebraska on Feb. 14, the Buckeyes showed no signs of rust as they raced out to a 13-0 start, ultimately finishing the first quarter with a commanding 26-10 lead. Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon combined for 16 points in the first quarter.
Ohio State’s pace slowed down in the second quarter, in which the Buckeyes scored only 11 points, but they still took a 13-point lead of 37-24 into halftime. Sheldon (12 points) and McMahon (11) both reached double digits in the first half; defensively, the Buckeyes forced 14 Penn State turnovers in the first two quarters.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | PENN STATE |
|---|---|---|
| 82 | POINTS | 69 |
| 33-70 (47.1%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 27-55 (49.1%) |
| 11-27 (40.7%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 4-17 (23.5%) |
| 5-7 (71.4%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 11-15 (73.3%) |
| 16 | TURNOVERS | 27 |
| 29 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 35 |
| 10 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 8 | BENCH POINTS | 19 |
| 4 | BLOCKS | 6 |
| 14 | STEALS | 10 |
| 21 | ASSISTS | 12 |
As they’ve done often this season, the Buckeyes pulled away in the third quarter, starting the second half on an 11-2 run to build a 22-point lead. Celeste Taylor scored 11 points in the first four minutes and 30 seconds of the quarter, hitting three 3-pointers to help the Buckeyes extend their advantage.
Ohio State outscored Penn State 27-18 in the third quarter and extended its lead to as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter with 4:30 to play. With the Buckeyes’ starters on the bench for the end of the game, Penn State finished the game on a 21-4 run to cut the final margin to 13 points.
Sheldon led all scorers for the game with 20 points while McMahon (16), Taylor (16) and Taylor Thierry (14) followed closely behind. Taylor also led all players with seven assists and seven steals.
Ohio State will return home looking for its 14th win in a row when it plays Maryland at 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
In response to increased ticket demand from fans wanting to watch the second-ranked Buckeyes in person, Ohio State is opening up the upper bowl with additional tickets available for the third time this season.
Game Notes
- Celeste Taylor, who played two seasons at Texas and two seasons at Duke before transferring to Ohio State last offseason, reached the 1,500-point mark for her college career on Thursday.
- Rikki Harris, the Buckeyes’ leading bench scorer this season, had to be helped off the floor with an apparent ankle injury after landing awkwardly in the fourth quarter. She remained on the bench with her teammates for the remainder of the game. Kevin McGuff told reporters postgame that the preliminary indication was that Harris suffered an ankle sprain.
