Ohio State Women’s Basketball Outlasts No. 14 Michigan, 66-57, in Columbus and Ties Program-Best Start With 15-0 Record This Season

The No. 3 Buckeyes defeated the No. 14 Wolverines, 66-57, to go 15-0 for the season in front of a packed 3,700-seat Cobbelli Center crowd. The record tied for the best start in the show’s history, matching his 2011-12 team record led by former head coach Jim Foster.

Taylor Mikesell led Ohio State with 4-of-16 shooting, while Ricky Harris and Coty McMahon added 14 and 12 respectively. recorded a team-high 10 rebounds. Michigan was led by Cameron Williams, who tallied his 18 points and 10 rebounds with the Wolverines.

As a team, Ohio State made only 21 of 60 shooting attempts to earn a 35% mark against the Wolverines. The Buckeyes also made three points. Despite these numbers, head coach Kevin McGuff’s team held on defensively, limiting Michigan to his 19-of-51 shooting (37%), and from behind the arc he shot 2-of-17. (12%) to beat the competition.

how it happened

Ohio State got off to a slow start against their Ann Arbor rivals as the Wolverines jumped out to an early 8–0 lead. But when the buzzer sounded to end the frame, the Buckeyes answered with a run of their own, outscoring Michigan 9-2 in the final minutes of the quarter and trailing by one point at 10-9.

In the second quarter, the Ohio State offense, ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten, came alive going into the matchup against Michigan, with the Buckeyes scoring 21 points to the Wolverines’ 17 points. Additionally, the quarter ended with a momentum-changing play. For Ohio. With the clock slowing down, Mikesell threw a pass outside the arc to Emma Shmate, where she connected on a 3-point try, sending her Buckeyes to the half for a 30–27 lead.

After the break, Ohio State took command of the contest, leading by as much as 16 points late in the third quarter. But Michigan picked itself up and found its rhythm offensively. In his final two minutes and substitutions, the Wolverines put in his 9-2 run, cutting the Buckeyes lead to 50-41 as he moved into fourth place.

Ohio State’s advantage continued to shrink as the clock ticked down in the final frame, and Michigan started the quarter with another 9-2 run. The Buckeyes lead was 52-50 with him just under seven minutes left in the game.

From that point on, Harris became the Ohio State X-Factor, scoring 5 of the next 9 points. Rebeka Mikrasikova also hit a crucial 3-point shot, her first field goal of the contest, extending the Buckeyes lead to 64-52 with 3:01 remaining.

The Wolverines then landed some final punches that failed to beat Ohio State, and the Buckeyes used strong defense and smart clock management to get away and clinch a 66–57 victory over Columbus.

game notes

• Jaycee Sheldon missed the 10th game of the season with a foot injury. Stargard has not played for Ohio State and has no plans to return to the team since the Buckeyes defeated Louisville in his ACC/Big His Ten Challenge on November 30.

• During the Buckeyes’ 88-86 overtime victory over South Florida on December 20, Madison Green fell to the floor while driving to the basket. From that point on, she could no longer put weight on her left leg. The program later confirmed that Green’s season ended with her knee injury.

• The game at Ohio State’s Cobbelli Center is expected to be a one-off game this season, according to a program spokesperson. The Buckeyes will return to the Schottenstein Center for the remainder of their home games in 2022-23.

next

Ohio State won’t go back to hardwoods until Thursday, when the Buckeyes travel to Minneapolis to battle the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the barn. That contest tip is set for 8pm ET.