Arace: Sweetness for Ohio State's Jacy Sheldon and bittersweetness for Maine's Anne Simon
March Madness is a big stage populated by college-aged human beings (and Seth Towns). Part of its magic comes from the unknown, or the fear of it. What are these young people capable of doing? From where will the next upset come?
On March 3, before a nationally televised audience, the Ohio State women’s basketball team suffered a 10-point loss to host Iowa in their regular-season finale. No shame in that.
Five days later, the Buckeyes were vaporized in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes were the top seed, and they were beaten by No. 8 seed Maryland 82-61. That was ... deflating.
Ohio State, the seventh-ranked team in the country, had to wait two weeks for the NCAA Tournament to start. St. Patrick’s Day came and went. So did spring break. The Buckeyes had to wonder, human nature being what it is. Right? There must have been a seed of doubt, or at least a kernel of trepidation, somewhere in their beings.
“No,” said coach Kevin McGuff, "because we practice really hard. I wasn’t worried about us just because of the effort, the intensity and the focus we were practicing with.”
No worries. After a fortnight of walled-off intrasquad play, Ohio State, a No. 2 seed, took out No. 15 seed Maine in a first-round game at Value City Arena on Friday. The final score was 80-57. It was a no-doubter from the second quarter onward.
Guard Jacy Sheldon, a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award and the Naismith Trophy, had a line score that describes a master of multi-tasking: 19 points on 50% shooting, four rebounds and four assists to one turnover. She does this stuff all the time. She is one of three players in program history with 1,900 points, 400 rebounds, 350 assists, 200 steals and 150 3-pointers.
Sheldon’s splash that beat the first-quarter buzzer tilted the court. From there, Ohio State turned up the pressure with its full-court press and outscored Maine 21-8 to take a 19-point lead into the half. Along the way – on a layup with 2:53 left in the half, to be exact – Sheldon scored her 2000th career point.
To say the second half was irrelevant would be both accurate and insensitive. This time of year brings a measure of glory to the victors, especially to the teams that win the last game, but it also brings out a flavor of bittersweetness that can overwhelm the palate. It's an emotional gyroscope.
Maine (24-10) was a massive, mid-major underdog that got run off the court. Maine was also a proud America East Conference champion, and the Black Bears went out with class and dignity. These attributes were personified by forward Adrianna Smith, who had to be helped off the court after spraining an ankle in the first half and returned in the second with a tape job that bordered on mummification. Her teammate, star guard Anne Simon, later articulated what this tournament is all about.
Simon came back for her fifth year of eligibility with the goal of winning the conference, a goal achieved. She finished her career as the two-time America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She’s among Maine’s top five all-time in points (1,982), 3-pointers (191) and steals (280).
In her final game, she led all scorers with 25 points. No doubt, McGuff was telling his Ohio State defenders, “Look, she only goes to her left.” It didn’t matter. Simon carved them up. Afterward, the reality that her college career was done hit her in the heart.
“At first I didn't realize it, but then obviously I saw coach Amy and I was like, OK, wait, this is the last time I'm coming off the court for Maine,” Simon said. “And it just hit me. Just seeing everyone and just being happy, like I mean I know we lost, but I'm so proud of how we kept fighting in that game and never gave up and then just coming off the court, just again having this moment for one more time, just really happy but also sad at the same time, and then just having my teammates and Anna to do it together, it was sad.”
Ohio State (26-5) will face Duke (21-10) in a second-round game Sunday.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Buckeyes send Maine Black Bears home in first round of NCAA Tournament
