Despite a mediocre offensive performance, Ohio State (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten) hung on to a 60-59 win over Iowa (22-10, 10-9 Big Ten) on Friday night to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Buckeyes shot just 23-of-63 from the field (36.5 percent), but were solid enough defensively, and only allowed the Hawkeyes to make 23-of-59 shots (39.0 percent).
Ohio State’s defense made the plays in crunch time as well, forcing Iowa into back-to-back misses in the closing seconds of the game after junior forward Cotie McMahon made a pair of clutch free throws with only 6.7 seconds left.
Ohio State appeared to have no jitters early on in its first game of the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes opened the game on a 10-3 scoring run fueled by back-to-back 3-point shots from junior forward Cotie McMahon.
After scoring 10 points in the first 3:21 of the game, the Buckeyes’ offense cooled down to end the first quarter, and only made one of their last six field goals. The Hawkeyes were much offensively in the first quarter and only made 3-of-17 shots, but senior guard Lucy Olsen made a mid-range jumper right before the buzzer to cut Ohio State’s lead to 14-9.
Ohio State pushed its lead to 7 after a steal from senior guard Taylor Thierry led to a layup but graduate guard Madison Greene, but the Hawkeyes got out in transition to score seven straight fast-break points and tie the game at 18.
It didn’t take long for Ohio State to come up with a response. After a timeout from head coach Kevin McGuff, the Buckeyes scored six straight points to take a 24-18 lead with 5:20 to go in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes couldn’t maintain their momentum though. The Buckeyes made just 1 of 9 field goals in a 5:04 span, and the Hawkeyes took advantage with a 10-2 scoring run to grab a 28-26 lead.
Thierry made a pivotal and-1 layup with only 16 seconds to go before halftime, and after an Olsen miss on the other end, the Buckeyes held onto a 29-28 advantage at the midway point.
McMahon put the Buckeyes up 3 with a mid-range jumper on the team’s very first possession, but Iowa went on a 9-2 scoring run to take a 37-33 lead.
After a cold start to the third quarter, the Buckeyes started to see some 3-point shots go in. Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge drained two 3-point jumpers before Thierry made a 3-pointer to give Ohio State a 44-43 lead.
Thierry then came up with a steal and made a layup to put Ohio State up 46-43. Iowa guard Kylie Feuerbach knocked down at the 1:36 mark, but the Buckeyes got a late second-chance layup from graduate forward Eboni Walker that put them ahead 48-46 headed into the fourth quarter.
It was a slow offensive start for both teams in the fourth quarter. Ohio State made 1 of its first 7 shots while Iowa made 1 of its first 5 shots. The Buckeyes’ first make came on a 3-point shot from Thierry that made the score 51-48 with 6:48. Iowa shrunk that lead to two at the 5:15 mark with a layup from Feuerbach, but the Buckyes scored four straight with a free throw from McMahon and another 3-pointer from Thierry to go up 57-51 with 4:10 to go.
The Hawkeyes had an immediate answer to the Buckeyes’ spurt, and after a 3-point shot from guard Sydney Affolter, the Buckeyes’ lead was just 58-56 with 2:23 to go. A costly turnover by graduate guard Madison Greene, gave the Hawkeyes the ball with 1:40 to go. Iowa took advantage of the opportunity and Affolter drained another 3-point shot to make the score 59-58 in favor of Iowa. Freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge, who had a very quiet night only scoring 6 points on 3-of-15 shooting, was called for an offensive foul to give Iowa the ball back with 48 seconds left. The Buckeyes came up with a crucial stop and with 6.7 seconds left McMahon drew a foul to get to the free throw line. McMahon made both free throws to put Ohio State ahead 60-59.
The Hawkeyes had a mid-range look from forward Hannah Stuelke right before the buzzer that would’ve been a game-winner, but it fell just short.
It may not have been the Buckeyes’ best offensive performance, but both McMahon and Thierry had solid outings leading the team with 18 and 14 points respectively. Graduate forward Ajae Petty led the Buckeyes with 12 rebounds, while Cambridge had a team-high 5 assists.
