Behind a dominant defensive effort, No. 11 Ohio State (25-6, 14-5 Big Ten) got out to an ideal start to postseason play with an 83-59 win over Indiana (18-14, 6-13 Big Ten) on Thursday.
The Buckeyes held the Hoosiers to just 19-57 (33.3 percent) shooting, including 5-21 (23.8 percent) from three-point range in the win.
After starting the game ice cold from the field and missing its first seven field goal attempts, Ohio State fell behind 5-4 through the first five minutes of the game.
The Buckeyes’ slow offensive start continued and they fell behind 12-6 with 3:02 remaining in the opening frame after the Hoosiers converted a pair of free throws.
Ohio State got back in the game with a game-tying 6-0 spurt in the last two minutes of the first quarter.
Redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts led the Buckeyes on that spurt with a pair of layups.
Indiana scored first to start the second quarter, but Ohio State took its first lead of the game on a three-pointer from senior guard Chance Gray.
Gray’s three-pointer was only part of what would be a 12-0 Ohio State run. Gray capped the run with another three-pointer that put the Buckeyes ahead 24-14 with just over 6:00 to go in the half.
Ohio State’s lead continued to hover around 10 until redshirt junior guard Kennedy Camrbidge put the Buckeyes ahead 33-20 with a triple with just over 2:00 to go in the half.
The Hoosiers scored back-to-back two-point field goals, but Gray ended the half with yet another triple to make it 36-24 at the break.
After struggling mightily to make open shots in the first half Indiana opened the second half with a three-pointer.
The Hoosiers started the third quarter on a 5-0 spurt, but the Buckeyes answered by scoring 10 straight to lead 46-29.
Ohio State went on a scoring drought over nearly two minutes, but Indiana was only able to score four straight during that span, and the Buckeyes were quickly able to grow their lead back to 17 after baskets from Jaloni Cambridge and Watson.
The Buckeyes ended the third quarter or a 9-2 scoring run to lead 61-40 heading into the final quarter.
After Indiana opened the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws, Ohio State went on another 9-2 run to make it 70-44 with 7:12 remaining.
The Buckeyes’ dominance allowed them to rotate bench players in the game, who played well enough for the team to solidify its 24-point victory.
Ohio State was led by Jaloni Cambridge (19 points) and Chance Gray (18 points) in scoring, but Kennedy Cambridge wasn’t far behind with (14 points). Gray led the Buckeyes with six assists and sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä had a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Buckeyes didn’t have their most efficient performance of the season. They made just 30-74 field goal attempts, but grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, their most this season against a Big Ten foe.
Maya Makalusky led Indiana in scoring. She had 21 points on 5-13 shooting.
