Top-seeded women fall to Maryland in Big Ten quarterfinal
MINNEAPOLIS — After defeating Maryland on Feb. 25, Ohio State women’s basketball coach Kevin Mcguff made it clear he knew that facing the Terrapins was no easy task.
“I think they are going to be a tough out in March,” Mcguff said following that regular-season matchup.
Mcguff ’s statement proved to be the truth, as the No. 1 seed Ohio State was upset by No. 8 Maryland 82-61 in the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon.
Shyanne Sellers, daughter of
former Ohio State men’s standout Brad Sellers, led the Terrapins with 25 points. The junior from Aurora, Ohio, also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Brinae Alexander and Jakia Brownturner added 19 points each.
Rebeka Mikulasikova led Ohio State with 16 points. Taylor Thierry scored 13 points and Centerville High School graduate Cotie Mcmahon added 12. The Buckeyes were held to 35.9% field goal shooting and were 6 for 22 (27.3%) on 3-pointers.
“Our defense brought it today,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Our fifth-year seniors didn’t want to go home, and they all showed up.”
It seemed as though the Buckeyes couldn’t buy themselves a basket in the opening minutes, missing their first four attempts from the field. Even when taking the first free throws of the game, Mcmahon went 0 for 2 from the line.
Maryland capitalized, taking a 4-0 lead until Mikulasikova broke Ohio State out of the slump with a 3-pointer over 2:30 into the game.
What worked best for the Buckeyes in the first quarter was taking the ball directly to the basket. While going on an 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time at 11-8
more than halfway through the quarter, all Ohio State’s points in the stretch came off layups or free throws.
The Buckeyes shot 35.3% in the first quarter, but the Terrapins managed only 30%. Mikulasikova’s two 3-pointers put OSU ahead 17-12 after the first.
The Terrapins came out in the second quarter looking reenergized, while Ohio State’s struggles continued.
Able to get past the press, Maryland challenged Ohio State in the half court. Over the course of the season, one of the biggest areas of improvement in the Buckeyes’ game has been halfcourt defense, but that wasn’t on display before halftime.
Hitting back-to-back 3-point baskets and a second-chance layup, Maryland scored 7 points in less than a minute to regain the
lead 26-19 at with 5:32 left in the half.
The momentum continued
to build in favor of the Terrapins, even through the final seconds of the
half, when Sellers scored a buzzer-beater to close the half and give Maryland a 38-30 lead.
The Terrapins outscored the Buckeyes 26-13 in the second quarter while shooting 62.5% from the field.
Ohio State’s shooting woes were affecting Mcmahon and Celeste Taylor the worst, as they went a combined 2 for 14 from the field in the half.
The third quarter has been where Ohio State has performed its best this season, and on multiple occasions when the Buckeyes made comebacks. It looked like that could be the case, as the Buckeyes came out of halftime and cut the Terrapins’ lead to three within the first four minutes.
But the Terrapins capitalized on turnovers and rebounds to build the lead back to as many as 15 points with two minutes left in the quarter.
Visually upset with what he felt were missed calls throughout the third quarter, Mcguff seemed to reach his breaking point at the 1:58 mark following an Ohio State turnover. The Buckeyes’ coach was charged with a technical foul after yelling at an official over what he thought was a missed foul call.
Sellers hit the two awarded free throws and a Thierry foul just over 10 seconds later put Sellers at the line again to put the Terrapins’ lead at 19 points with 1:44 in the third.
Mcmahon, who had struggled to get the ball to fall through the net, put together 5 of her 12 points in the final minute of the third quarter to pull the game back within 11, 65-52.
There was just nothing that Ohio State could do to slow Maryland down by the fourth quarter, especially since the Buckeyes went 3 for 14 from the field, their worst shooting quarter of the game.
Along with Sellers, every Terrapins starter besides Mcdaniel scored over 15 points.