No. 12 Ohio State (18-3, 7-2 Big Ten) had its seven-game winning streak ended on Sunday, as it was defeated 91-70 by No. 10 Iowa (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten).
In its second game without redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts, who is out with a shoulder injury, Ohio State struggled to deal with the Hawkeyes’ elite frontcourt. In addition to being outscored in the paint 42-14, Ohio State was outrebounded 48-30 by the Hawkeyes.
Despite the loss, it was a fairly fast start for the Buckeyes. They started the game on an 8-2 scoring run, after three-point jumpers from sophomore guard Ava Watson and senior guard Chance Gray.
However, the Buckeyes’ lead was short-lived. Iowa scored six straight points to tie the game at 8, before a three-pointer from Watson made it 11-8.
Any momentum the Buckeyes may have had after their hot-shooting start was quickly erased by a 12-0 run from Iowa.
The Buckeyes didn’t score for nearly five minutes during the run. Sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge finally ended Ohio State’s drought with a three-pointer, but the Hawkeyes scored the last four of the first quarter to lead 24-14 heading into the second quarter.
Ohio State tried to get back in the game by scoring the first five points of the second quarter, but Iowa guard Kylie Feuerbach made two three-pointers in a span of 26 seconds to lead 30-21.
The Buckeyes got back within seven points of Iowa’s lead after back-to-back makes from Jaloni and Kennedy Cambridge, but Iowa went on a 9-2 scoring run to lead 41-27.
Gray made a jumper with 3:10 to go before halftime to bring Ohio State within 12, but Iowa scored seven unanswered points to create a 48-29 lead with 1:47 left in the half.
Gray made a triple before the end of the half, and Ohio State trailed 48-32 at the much-needed halftime break.
In the third quarter, Ohio State got within 15 points of Iowa’s lead when Kennedy Cambridge drained a triple, but it continued to struggle to contain Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke, who made multiple third quarter layups.
Stuelke made a layup with 3:51 left in the third quarter to give the Hawkeyes a 60-41 lead. Despite a couple of three-point jumpers from both Cambridge sisters in the final 2:29 of the third quarter, Ohio State still trailed by 20 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Buckeyes didn’t manage to get within 15 points of the lead until Jaloni Cambridge made a triple with under 3:00 to go that made the score 81-67. However, Iowa guard Chazadi Wright made a pair of three-point jumpers in a span of just over one minute to help the Hawkeyes earn their 21-point victory.
Ohio State was led by Jaloni Cambridge in the loss. She scored 26 points on 9-19 shooting and had a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists. Gray (16 points) and Watson (10 points) both reached double-figures. It was a dreadful shooting day for Ohio State. The Buckeyes shot just 24-69 from the field (34.8 percent).
Iowa meanwhile was extremely efficient from the field, shooting 37-64 (57.8 percent) from the field, including 9-22 from three-point range.
Iowa was led by freshman guard Addison Deal, who scored a team-high 20 points.
