No. 2 Ohio State stumbled to its third consecutive loss on Sunday, dropping a 73-65 contest to visiting Purdue.
Despite Ohio State tying the game in the fourth quarter after facing a 46-29 deficit early in the third frame, the Buckeyes (19-3, 8-3) were unable to complete the comeback after the Boilermakers (15-6, 6-5 Big Ten) closed the contest out with a 15-7 run over the game’s final minutes.
The teams went back-and-forth through the early minutes of the contest, with Ohio State leading 11-10 before a triple from Purdue guard Abbey Ellis put the Boilermakers up 13-11 entering the first media timeout.
Out of the break, Purdue went on an 8-2 run, forcing a quick timeout from Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff, but it did little to get the Buckeyes back into shape as the Boilermakers added another pair of three-pointers to lead 27-13 at the end of the first quarter. Purdue finished the first frame 7 of 9 from deep, with one of the misses coming on a heave at the buzzer.
The second quarter featured several short-lived comeback attempts by Ohio State, which trailed 29-13 after an early basket by Purdue, but nearly every attempt to get back in the contest was immediately refuted by the Boilermakers. Following a basket by freshman forward Cotie McMahon with 5:16 left and a layup from guard Emma Shumate with 3:28 remaining – scores that cut the deficit to 12 and 11 points, respectively – Purdue struck back with triples to push the lead back up.
Guard Taylor Thierry – who added a basket with just two seconds remaining in the first half to make it 41-29 entering the locker room – was the main reason Ohio State kept the score respectable through the first 20 minutes, adding 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Purdue went up 46-29 to begin the third quarter before a 12-2 run by the Buckeyes made it 48-41 with 4:43 left in the frame. Ohio State’s run was boosted by guard Taylor Mikesell’s first points of the game, including a pair of makes from deep.
The Buckeyes were then held scoreless over the next four minutes until a triple from forward Rebeka Mikulášiková broke the scoring drought to make it 52-44, the eventual score entering the fourth.
Purdue guard Cassidy Hardin and Ohio State guard Rikki Harris traded triples to begin the final frame before a free throw from Thierry and yet another three-pointer from Mikesell made it 55-51 with 8:27 to go, marking the smallest deficit for the Buckeyes since the first quarter.
The Boilermakers were able to retain their advantage before Thierry tied the game 58-all with 4:28 remaining, but Ohio State was never able to capitalize beyond that point, as Purdue closed with a 15-7 run to ice the game for the 73-65 final.
The Boilermakers dominated from beyond the arc, shooting 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from deep, while the Buckeyes shot just 7 of 24. Over the last three games – all losses after a 19-0 start to the season – Ohio State has shot just 20.6 percent (14 of 68) from three-point range.
Thierry led the Buckeyes with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting before fouling out of the game, while McMahon, Mikesell and Mikulášiková each finished with 11 points. The Boilermakers were led by guard Abbey Ellis, who had 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
The Buckeyes will look to snap their three-game losing streak at Wisconsin on Wednesday, with the game set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.