Defensive issues exposed during three-game slide

Ohio State and Iowa had played 66 times in women’s basketball before they met Thursday in Iowa City, and 66 times the Buckeyes had held the Hawkeyes to double digits in points.

Iowa erased 27 years of history in a 103-89 win over No. 12 Ohio State, exposing and repeatedly punishing a Buckeyes defense that has looked lost the last 10 days. In consecutive losses to Michigan, Maryland and Iowa, Ohio State has allowed an average of 95.3 points and lost by an average of 17.7 points, a number skewed by a 30-point loss Monday at No. 14 Maryland.

No current Ohio State player was on the roster during the 201314 season, the last time the Buckeyes lost three straight Big Ten games. Those Buckeyes finished 17-18 overall and 5-11 in Big Ten play, and lost five straight February games, including four straight against ranked opponents.

In a similarly difficult stretch of conference games the past two weeks, a far more talented Ohio State team has likewise struggled, dropping three of four games this month against opponents ranked in the coaches poll.

Coach Kevin McGuff said he has seen a couple of themes during the skid, including difficulties guarding the ball and providing consistent post defense. Three straight opponents have shot better than 50 percent.

Against the Hawkeyes, the Buckeyes (16-5, 5-3 Big Ten) shot over 40 percent for the first time in four games but often lacked the fluidity and ball movement they showed in abundance over a ninegame winning streak in December and January.

“We kind of got stuck,” McGuff said Thursday. “I thought we settled for some shots where we could have made one more pass or one more drive where it could have led to something better, and we just didn’t get enough of that.”

The Iowa game ended just before 10 p.m. Thursday, giving the Buckeyes a little more than 38 hours to recover and prepare for a game Saturday at Value City Arena against Michigan State.

After the loss to Maryland, senior forward Stephanie Mavunga shared a fairly simple message about Ohio State’s coming games: “Control what you can control.” She said that before Ohio State lost yet again at Iowa, but the idea still rings true. A game against Michigan State is coming too quickly for the Buckeyes to dwell on recent failures. More than anything, they know they need a win.

“You (can’t) look at the past, you’ve just got to grow from it,” Mavunga said this week. “You can’t change what’s happened.”