In its 88-86 overtime loss to No. 8 Michigan on Wednesday, No. 13 Ohio State seemed to have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
The Buckeyes overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to lead 86-78 with 1:40 remaining in overtime. At that point, the Buckeyes had a 99.5 percent chance of winning, according to ESPN Analytics.
However, the Wolverines ended the game on a 10-0 scoring run to prevail in stunning fashion.
Michigan’s comeback started immediately after a layup from senior guard Chance Gray with 1:40 left in overtime. The Buckeyes weren’t quite set on defense, and Michigan guard Macy Brown found a clear path to the basket before being fouled by Ohio State sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge.
The Buckeyes were still in a comfortable position with a six-point lead and only 1:33 remaining, but after breaking Michigan’s full-court press on the ensuing possession, Gray attempted to find sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä under the basket for a potential layup.
Gray’s pass was inaccurate, and Michigan came up with the steal they desperately needed. The Wolverines missed a three-point attempt, but Ohio State couldn’t come up with the rebound and Brown drained a triple to cut the lead in half. Ohio State broke Michigan’s press and inexplicably looked for a quick basket rather than running time off the clock. Cambridge attempted a contested layup with 55 seconds left. That attempt missed, but Lemmilä came up with a rebound. Still, the Buckeyes never seemed to settle into the possession, and Gray forced a contested mid-range jumper right before the shot clock expired.
McGuff said after the game, he wished his team had taken its time more on offense, protecting its lead.
“I thought we had a couple (possessions) there where we got the lead and kind of rushed up the court a little bit too much,” McGuff said. “We could, especially with the lead, have shrunk the clock a little bit. That would have been really the right move, but hey, we play aggressively, and we had some opportunities there, but we certainly could have shrunk the clock a little bit.”
The poor clock management cost Ohio State down the stretch. Michigan had plenty of time to find Brown for a game-tying three-pointer with 15 seconds left. Perhaps the worst bit of clock management was still to come.
Instead of running the clock all the way down to get the last shot with the game tied at 86, Ohio State freshman guard Bryn Martin attempted a three-pointer with 10 seconds left.
That shot was no good, and Michigan had a chance to win after collecting the rebound.
“We went a little quick, but we wanted to make sure we got a good shot, which we did. We got an open shot, it just didn’t go in,” McGuff said. “I thought we had a chance to rebound, it just went over Jaloni’s head, and then we didn’t get a stop.”
Michigan guard Olivia Olson made the game-winning basket with three seconds left. From there, the Buckeyes had a remote chance of scoring and either tying or winning the game, but Gray wasn’t quite aware of how much time she had. After receiving a pass from Jaloni Cambridge, Gray took an extra dribble and made a deep shot that would’ve won the game, but she released the ball well after the final buzzer sounded.
“I think we had plenty of opportunities to win the game prior to that,” Gray said of her shot that didn’t count. “I don’t think the shot would’ve counted regardless, because they started the clock late. I was just trying to fight until the end of the game. That’s really all I can do.”
