Ohio State survived a sloppy finish to get back in the win column against Minnesota on Thursday.
The Buckeyes squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead as they turned the ball over five times in the final three minutes of regulation, but battled to an 87-84 win over the Golden Gophers in overtime to snap a two-game losing streak.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #9 OHIO STATE | 21 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 13 | 87 |
| MINNESOTA | 17 | 13 | 16 | 28 | 10 | 84 |
Cotie McMahon led the Buckeyes with 25 points while freshman guard Ava Watson scored 16 points off the bench with four made 3-pointers as Ohio State shot 59.3% from the field, nearly 30 percentage points better than it did in its previous two games against UCLA and USC.
Ohio State forced seven turnovers in the game’s first nine minutes for an early 21-14 lead as McMahon scored eight first-quarter points. After a four-point run by Minnesota, Watson scored eight straight points – including back-to-back threes – to give Ohio State an 11-point lead early in the second quarter.
Minnesota responded with a 12-2 run from there to cut Ohio State’s lead down to one, but McMahon scored the final four points of the first half to give the Buckeyes a 35-30 lead at halftime.
The Buckeyes built their lead back up to 12 points late in the third quarter before a pair of tip-ins by Minnesota center Sophie Hart made it a 54-46 score entering the final frame. After the Gophers scored seven of the fourth quarter’s first 11 points to cut their deficit to five points, Ohio State went on a 7-0 run to retake a double-digit lead.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MINNESOTA |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | POINTS | 84 |
| 35-59 (59.3%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 35-69 (50.7%) |
| 4-12 (33.3%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 5-22 (22.7%) |
| 13-22 (59.1%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 9-12 (75%) |
| 17 | TURNOVERS | 21 |
| 27 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 35 |
| 8 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 16 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 19 |
| 25 | BENCH POINTS | 17 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 13 | STEALS | 4 |
| 19 | ASSISTS | 15 |
It looked like Ohio State would cruise to victory when it went ahead 73-61 on an Ajae Petty layup with 3:34 to play, but Minnesota scored 10 straight points from there – aided by five Buckeye turnovers – to make it a two-point game. After Madison Greene went 1-for-2 from the free throw line on Ohio State’s next possession, Minnesota’s Grace Grocholski made a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
The Buckeyes and Gophers went back and forth for most of the overtime period before a steal by Chance Gray set up a fast-break layup for Taylor Thierry that gave the home team a four-point lead. Minnesota’s Mallory Heyer responded right back with a 3-pointer. A layup by Elsa Lemmilä extended Ohio State’s lead back to three with 18 seconds to play, after which Amaya Battle and Gray each went 1-for-2 from the free throw line on their respective team’s next possessions. Ohio State finally secured a three-point victory when Lemmilä blocked Annika Stewart’s game-tying 3-point attempt in overtime.
Ohio State is now 21-3 and 10-3 in Big Ten play for the season as the Buckeyes sit third in the conference standings behind UCLA and USC, the two teams that beat Ohio State last week.
The Buckeyes will play at home again on Monday when they host Iowa in a Presidents’ Day matinee. The game is set for a noon tip-off at the Schottenstein Center and will be televised by FOX.
