How Rebeka Mikulasikova is impacting Ohio State by hitting her peak the right time
It was around this point last season when Rebeka Mikulasikova's numbers started to take a dip. She suffered an ankle injury toward the beginning of February while the 6-foot-4 forward had also logged a majority of the Ohio State's minutes in the post, which coach Kevin McGuff believes mentally wore her down.
Sidelined for the Buckeyes' last regular season matchup against Indiana in 2023, Mikulasikova was limited to 18 minutes off the bench in her team's 79-75 victory over the Hoosiers in the Big Ten tournament.
Mikulasikova doubled her time on the court against Indiana on Sunday, the only scheduled meeting between the two teams this season. Recording 11 points, five rebounds and four assists overall, the graduate student was met with a roaring round of applause at Value City Arena when she was given her first break of the game with 0:42 left in the third quarter.
"Really proud of her because she's gotten herself in excellent condition," McGuff said. "This is the best she's been from a physical standpoint since she's been in our program."
Going 3 for 6 from beyond the arc, Mikulasikova played a key role in the Buckeyes' 74-69 win. She also played a huge role defensively, matching up underneath with Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes.
While this wasn't her first time guarding the Hoosiers' All-American, this was arguably Mikulasikova's best defensive performance against her.
Aided by Ohio State's press, Mikulasikova kept the ball out of Holmes' hands a majority of the decisive third quarter. Holmes, who had put up 10 points and grabbed six boards in the first half, was held scoreless and failed to grab a rebound in the ten minutes after halftime.
"When within a game, some things go wrong, I think in years past, that would really affect her for the whole game," McGuff said of Mikulasikova. "But she's really playing through mistakes and playing with great toughness, and she just has this ‘whatever I need to do for the team’ mentality.”
'The sky's the limit'
Mikulasikova has scored in double figures in five of seven games dating back to Ohio State's 70-65 win over Michigan State on Jan. 14. Her previous high in the six games leading up to that was 8.
"I tried to just play more inside and that helps me to gain confidence to step outside and hit the 3s," said Mikulasikova after scoring a season-high 20 points against Maryland on Jan. 17. "So, I just really worked on that, to start there and continue to spread my game outside.”
Mikulasikova has also seen an uptick in assists, recording 24 of her 52 this season in that same stretch and notching a career-best six against Illinois on January 25.
McGuff has credited the team's current nine-game winning streak on their ability to move the ball and make the extra pass to find open baskets no matter what defense opponents throw at them.
"When teams go zone, it kind of helps us more than they think it hurts us," sophomore Cotie McMahon said. "Getting the ball in the middle and then people kind of draw their attention towards me, which leaves Rebeka open on the post or just people open on the perimeter."
Mikulasikova continuing to show she understands when to make those key passes and hitting clutch shots will be important for Ohio State's final stretch of the regular season.
"Her confidence helps more than I think she knows," McMahon said. "We've seen her kind of struggle with her confidence. And so just her knowing that she's confident within herself and us as a team, it feels like sky's the limit when she's playing how she's playing.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rebeka Mikulasikova is making a big impact for No. 5 Ohio State women
