Standout performances from sophomore forward Cotie McMahon and fifth-year forward Rebeka Mikulasikova helped lead No. 16 Ohio State (6-1) past No. 20 Tennessee (4-4) in a 78-58 road win on Sunday.
Ohio State led wire-to-wire against Tennessee, going up by as many as 22 points as it shot 41.1 percent from the floor compared to just 35.1 percent shooting for the Volunteers. The Buckeyes also held a 45-36 advantage in rebounds while forcing 20 turnovers.
Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said before the game that her team spent an entire day in practice preparing for how Ohio State likes to increase pace in transition and with the Buckeyes’ defensive press, but that extra work was not evident early on.
Ohio State forced a turnover on the Volunteers’ second possession of the game that lead to an early layup by sophomore forward Cotie McMahon. After Tennessee closed the deficit to just 9-7, the Buckeyes responded with an 11-0 run – with four points from McMahon and a triple from fifth-year forward Rebeka Mikulasikova – to lead 20-7 with 3:59 left in the quarter.
But the Volunteers took advantage of poor shooting by the Buckeyes, who missed their last eight shots of the quarter as Tennessee utilized an 8-0 run to trail just 20-15 going into the second frame.
The teams were slow coming out of the break, combining to hit just one of nine shots to begin the second quarter until Tennessee guard Tess Darby and McMahon traded three-pointers, with Ohio State holding a 27-20 led with 6:46 left in the half.
After some contributions at the free-throw line from fifth-year forward Eboni Walker, McMahon and fifth-year guard Celeste Taylor, baskets by McMahon and fifth-year guard Jacy Sheldon increased Ohio State’s lead to 39-23, capping off a 9-2 run. The Volunteers looked to carry some momentum into the locker room with a late three-pointer by guard Avery Strickland, but Sheldon hit a layup at the buzzer to make it 43-28 going into the half.
Ohio State forced 10 turnovers by Tennessee in the first half that led to 16 points while the Volunteers shot just 32.1 percent from the floor. McMahon totaled 19 points in the first half on 6-of-12 shooting – including six makes in as many tries at the line – while Mikulasikova had 10 points.
The Buckeyes had three consecutive baskets coming out of the half, and after Tennessee broke the scoring run with a triple by guard Destinee Wells, Mikulasikova responded with a three-pointer of her own – her third of the game – to give the Buckeyes a 52-31 lead. With the three-pointer, Mikulasikova became just the 37th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points for the Scarlet and Gray.
The Volunteers took off on an 8-1 run, but as Ohio State did all evening, it responded, this time with a triple from Sheldon that kickstarted a 10-3 run to lead 63-44 entering the fourth.
Taylor started off the fourth quarter with a three-pointer – three of 15 points on the night, a high with the Buckeyes in addition to 12 rebounds for a double-double – and added another basket, a steal and assist to junior guard Taylor Thierry to put the Buckeyes up 74-52 with 4:21 remaining before Ohio State closed things out.
Ohio State was led by McMahon, who fouled out with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting – missing all four shots and committing three turnovers in the second half – while Mikulasikova had 18 points and Sheldon added 13 points, in addition to Taylor’s double-double. The Volunteers were led by Wells, who had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
The Buckeyes will return to Value City Arena for a home game against Ohio on Tuesday, with the in-state battle set to tip off at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.
