No. 18 Ohio State (14-3, 5-1) outlasted Maryland (11-6, 3-3) at the Xfinity Center on Wednesday night, taking home a 84-76 win to hand the Terrapins their first home loss since Dec. 4, 2022.
The Buckeyes dominated near the basket, holding a 52-36 advantage in points in the paint, and limited the Terrapins to 34.3 percent shooting in the second half after trailing 39-37 at the break.
Ohio State fell in a 7-3 hole to begin the contest, with eight of its first nine shots missing the mark and the only make a three-pointer from fifth-year forward Rebeka Mikulášiková, with three turnovers during that span. The Buckeyes cut the deficit to 8-7 after a pair of free throws from fifth-year guard Jacy Sheldon, but the Terrapins were able to maintain a 14-9 lead after a series of baskets from guard Bri McDaniel.
The Buckeyes broke through late in the first quarter with a pair of baskets off turnovers from fifth-year guard Celeste Taylor – one of which was a three-pointer, one of just two makes in the first quarter on 10 attempts – to take a 16-15 lead, though McDaniel hit a jumper going into the second to maintain a 17-16 lead for the Terrapins.
Junior guard Taylor Thierry put Ohio State up to begin the second quarter, but Maryland responded with a 9-4 run to hold onto a 26-22 lead with 7:38 left in the half. The Buckeyes tied the game on two occasions over the next couple of minutes, but the Terrapins were able to maintain a 32-28 lead behind big performances from McDaniel and guard Jakia Brown-Turner.
Ohio State then scored the game’s next five points – capped by a layup from Taiyier Parks – to take a 33-32 lead with 2:59 left, though the Terrapins hit a three-pointer on the other end to retake the lead and eventually went into the half up 39-37. The Buckeyes shot 40.6 percent from the field in the first half but were just 2 of 16 from deep, and allowed 13 points off turnovers, though they did get 10 second-chance points.
Ohio State remained within striking distance of Maryland throughout the third quarter, trailing 46-41 with 7:04 left in the frame before scoring on back-to-back possessions – a three from Mikulášiková and a second-chance layup by Thierry – to tie things back up, leading to a timeout by the Terrapins.
Out of the break, scoring mostly dried up, with just three combined baskets over the next three minutes until fifth-year guard Rikki Harris tied things back up at 50 with a pair of free throws. After some more back-and-forth, Mikulášiková hit her third three-pointer of the game to give the Buckeyes a 55-52 lead with 1:52 left in the third, their first lead since there was 2:59 left in the second quarter.
The final stretch of the third quarter then saw the teams trade free throws, with Ohio State holding a 56-55 advantage going into the fourth after holding Maryland to just 27.8 percent shooting in the frame.
Ohio State scored the first six points of the fourth quarter on baskets by sophomore forward Cotie McMahon, Parks and Thierry to take a 62-55 lead, and held Maryland without a point until guard Shyanne Sellers knocked down a pair at the line, but McMahon responded with two more buckets to put the Buckeyes up 66-57 with 6:21 left in the game. Maryland responded with back-to-back baskets, however, leading to a timeout from Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff.
Out of the timeout, Taylor hit a free throw by the Terrapins responded to make it 67-63. But Ohio State’s next possession ended with another free throw from Taylor after four offensive rebounds by the Buckeyes in the same trip down the floor, maintaining a 68-63 lead with 4:00 remaining.
After Maryland cut the deficit to 71-67 with 2:49 remaining, Ohio State scored the game’s next three baskets to take a 77-67 lead – the largest of the contest for either team – with 1:55 left, and after an ensuing basket by the Terrapins, got another basket from Taylor to maintain a 79-69 lead. Maryland got a three-pointer with 31 seconds remaining to make it 80-74, but the Buckeyes were able to close things out at the free-throw line.
Ohio State saw five plays finish in double digits, led by Mikulášiková with 20 points along with Thierry (17), McMahon (14), Taylor (11) and Sheldon (10), while McMahon and Thierry had a team-high nine rebounds. Maryland was led by guard Lavender Briggs, Brown-Turner and McDaniel, who each finished with 16 points.
Ohio State will return home on Sunday for a massive matchup with No. 2 Iowa, set for a noon tip on NBC.
