OSU
of the No. 13 Buckeyes at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.
“Once she got off to a great start, she was just unbelievable,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said of Laksa. “You can’t let her get that comfortable early on if you want to have success guarding her.”
USF (20-5, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) outrebounded Ohio State 46-26 and held the Buckeyes to their lowest scoring output since Nov. 30.
Laksa’s 18-point first-quarter outburst and a poor Ohio State rebounding effort built a 31-13 USF lead. Ohio State (20-6, 9-3 Big Ten) was outrebounded 17-4 in the first quarter and 28-11 in a first half in which it surrendered nine offensive boards.
Stephanie Mavunga was the lone bright spot for the Buckeyes in the
opening two quarters, making seven of her nine shots for a team-high 15 points. Kelsey Mitchell hit a long two at the buzzer, but Ohio State still trailed 46-32 at the break.
Sierra Calhoun made a three with 1:28 remaining in the third quarter to make it 61-47, but the Bulls punched back with a Laksa three on their next possession to put an early end to any possible Ohio State comeback attempt.
Through defense and rebounding, Ohio State re-established its offensive transition success over a fourgame win streak. On Sunday, USF’s dominant rebounding and ability to consistently make field goals kept the Buckeyes in neutral.
“Our style is not successful if we’re taking the ball out of the net the whole night and, in
general, if we’re not running,” McGuff said. “If we’re not the team that’s the quickest up the court and attacking, then we’re probably not generating enough good shots.”
Mavunga led Ohio State with 28 points and Mitchell had 19 on 6-of-15 shooting. Maria Jespersen added 20 points for the Bulls. Ohio State returns to Big Ten play Tuesday at Illinois after another painful reminder that allowing a good team to find a groove early is a recipe for disaster.
“That’s as much on me as anybody,” McGuff said. “We’ve got to continue to focus on what we didn’t do well today and learn from it, but at the same time we’ve got to quickly turn around and get ready for Illinois.”