Ohio State women’s basketball has clinched a share of the Big Ten championship.
The Buckeyes will be at least co-champions for the regular season after defeating Maryland, 79-66, at the Schottenstein Center on Sunday for their 14th straight victory.
While Ohio State still must win one of its final two regular-season games against Michigan or Iowa to secure the Big Ten title outright, the Buckeyes clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with Sunday’s win. With a 2-0 record against Iowa and Indiana so far this season, Ohio State holds the tiebreaker over both teams in the event of a tie atop the conference standings.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARYLAND | 13 | 18 | 24 | 11 | 66 |
| #2 OHIO STATE | 21 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 79 |
Ohio State, which is now 14-0 for the 2024 calendar year, holds a 24-3 overall record and a 15-1 record in Big Ten play for the season.
All five Ohio State starters scored in double figures against Maryland, led by Senior Day honorees Celeste Taylor (20) and Jacy Sheldon (17). Cotie McMahon added 15 for the Buckeyes, while Rebeka Mikulasikova scored 11 and Taylor Thierry scored 10.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 79 | POINTS | 66 |
| 28-56 (50%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 24-58 (41%) |
| 9-26 (35%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 6-13 (46%) |
| 14-16 (88%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 12-16 (75%) |
| 9 | TURNOVERS | 15 |
| 32 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 34 |
| 5 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 10 |
| 27 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 24 |
| 6 | BENCH POINTS | 4 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 0 |
| 10 | STEALS | 4 |
| 16 | ASSISTS | 14 |
The Buckeyes got off to a hot start, making 62% of their field goal attempts and four of eight 3-point attempts in the first quarter to take a 21-13 lead through 10 minutes. Ohio State finished the first half with a 54% shooting percentage (15-of-28) and seven made threes on 14 attempts as it took a 13-point lead of 44-31 into halftime.
Ohio State cooled off in the third quarter, making only one of nine 3-point attempts as the Terps outscored the Buckeyes 24-16 to cut the home team’s advantage to only five points entering the final period. It was the first time since a Dec. 18 loss to UCLA that Ohio State, typically a dominant third-quarter team, was outscored in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes bounced back in the fourth quarter, starting the final period on a 6-0 run to retake a double-digit lead. A subsequent 5-0 run to cut the deficit to six points was as close as Maryland would get from there before Ohio State pulled away to win by 13.
Up Next
Ohio State will play its final home game of the season and look to avenge its only loss of conference play when it hosts Michigan at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. The Buckeyes can clinch the outright Big Ten regular-season championship with a win in Wednesday’s game, which will be broadcast on Peacock.
“The team up north, we love playing them,” Sheldon said after Sunday’s win. “We have an extra chip on our shoulder when we're playing this team anyway, so I think that just adds to the excitement around this game.”
Game Notes
- Ohio State honored seven players during Senior Day festivities before Sunday’s game: Sheldon, Mikulasikova, Taylor, Rikki Harris, Karla Vres, Eboni Walker and Taiyier Parks. Harris and Walker could still potentially return for an extra year of eligibility.
Ohio State womens basketball honored seven players in Senior Day festivities before todays game against Maryland: Jacy Sheldon, Rebeka Mikulasikova, Celeste Taylor, Rikki Harris, Eboni Walker, Taiyier Parks and Karla Vres. pic.twitter.com/l7vETP7c8V
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) February 25, 2024
- Despite suffering an ankle injury in Ohio State’s previous game against Penn State on Thursday, Harris returned to action against Maryland and scored six points off the bench.
