No. 12 Ohio State women's defense leads to commanding victory over Ohio University
Going up against its only intrastate opponent of the regular season, the No. 12 Ohio State's women's basketball team was quick to pull away its foe from Athens.
Bringing their all-time record against Ohio University to 23-1, the Buckeyes defeated the Bobcats 85-45 on Tuesday. It was the first time this season that Jacy Sheldon scored under 10 points, but four teammates scored in double-digits to make up for it. Led by Emma Shumate with a career-high 22 points, Taylor Theirry (15), Cotie McMahon (14) and Rebeka Mikulasikova (13) all reached double-digits.
The Buckeyes started off their night with a 3-pointer from Mikulasikova from the top of the key that the Bobcats matched with a 3-pointer of their own from Jaya McClure. That was the only time Ohio would have a response for anything Ohio State threw at them.
Back-to-back steals from McMahon and Celeste Taylor led to back-to-back buckets from McMahon, giving the Buckeyes an early 8-3 advantage they would never look back from.
In the first quarter alone, the Buckeyes had 13 rebounds and seven steals, behind Taylor Thierry's four, which put her at her season-best for steals after 10 minutes of play.
Starting the second quarter with a 16-6 lead, the Buckeyes continued to put points on the board, running the fast-paced offense they prefer to play with. Of their 42 points in the first half, 23 came off 10 turnovers, which helped the Buckeyes' hold their opponents to 13 points in the first half for the second time this season.
"When we're really playing hard and executing in the press, that's what it's designed to do," Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff said. "I think we're getting better in that area than where we were probably at the start of the season and tonight was a good indication."
When the points weren't coming off of turnovers in the second quarter, it seemed like they were all coming out of the hands of Shumate from beyond the arc. The former Newark star hit four 3-pointers in the quarter, giving her a career best 12 points going into halftime.
"I just feel like I'm getting more confident in my shot," Shumate said. "I would say it's very much mental for me."
The defense, led by Thierry and Taylor, made it extremely difficult for the Bobcats to put together any momentum. The two each accounted for five of Ohio State's 15 steals on the night. Ohio's 16 more than doubled any amount they reached in the first two quarters, but the Buckeyes still held a 66-29 lead at the end of 30 minutes of play.
The last quarter allowed the Buckeyes to get all their bench players to put minutes on the board, with Kaia Henderson putting up the most points of her career with 6, going 3-3 from the floor.
The Buckeyes now head into Big 10 play when Penn State comes to Columbus on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women have strong defensive outing against Ohio University
