No. 10 Ohio State Struggles Offensively In 74-61 Loss To No. 23 Minnesota

Struggling to find much of an offensive rhythm, No. 10 Ohio State (22-5, 11-4 Big Ten) dropped its second-straight game on Wednesday, falling to No. 23 Minnesota (21-6, 12-4 Big Ten) 74-61.

In the loss, Ohio State shot just 24-61 from the field (39.3 percent), including 8-19 from three-point range (42.1 percent). Minnesota didn’t shoot much better. The Golden Gophers went 27-68 from the field (39.7 percent), but dominated on the glass. Minnesota outrebounded Ohio State 4732.

The Buckeyes fell behind 8-4 early in their battle after Minnesota guard Grace Grocholski buried a triple, but were quick to respond with a scoring run.

The Buckeyes held Minnesota scoreless for over five minutes to score seven straight points and take an 11-8 lead.

Then it was Ohio State’s turn to go on a scoring drought. The Buckeyes failed to score for over three minutes, and Minnesota led 14-11.

Redshirt junior guard Kennedy Cambridge tied the game at 14 with a triple with less than a minute to go, and Ohio State took a lead into the second quarter after a layup from freshman guard Bryn Martin.

Ohio State continued its run in the second quarter, scoring seven straight to lead 23-14. The Golden Gophers answered with six straight of their own before sophomore guard Ava Watson ended the spurt with a three-point jumper.

The Buckeyes failed to make a field goal in the final 2:20 of the half and carried a 29-26 lead into the second half.

Ohio State’s cold end to the first half continued into the third quarter. The Buckeyes failed to score in the first 3:30 of the half as Minnesota went on a 9-0 run to lead 35-29.

Senior guard Chance Gray ended Ohio State’s drought with a pair of free throws, but Minnesota was able to push the lead to 11 after an and-1 layup by guard Amaya Battle.

Ohio State continued the game of runs trend, scoring seven straight to get back in the game, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 44-40.

The Golden Gophers tallied six in a row to fall behind by 10, and guard Mara Braun pushed the lead to 11 with a triple right before the end of the third quarter.

Minnesota outscored Ohio State 27-13 in the third quarter.

Ohio State’s fortunes didn’t change in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes fell behind by 16 with 7:42 remaining after Minnesota made a three-pointer.

The Buckeyes had some hope after going on an 8-0 scoring run midway through the fourth quarter, but Battle drained a clutch three-pointer with 3:12 to make it 67-57.

The Buckeyes scored the next four points, but failed to score in the final two minutes before losing by 13.

Sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge was Ohio State’s leading scorer in the loss. She had 23 points, but wasn’t her usual efficient-self making just 10-27 field goal attempts. 

Gray also reached double-figures. She scored 17 points, but the rest of the team combined for just 21 points.

Minnesota was led by Braun and Hart, who each scored 18 points, but Battle (13 points) and Grocholoski (12 points) also reached double-figures.