Sloppy effort sinks Indiana women's basketball in loss to Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Indiana women's basketball team couldn't overcome its sloppy play in a 74-69 loss to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon.
There were 13 lead changes in the game, but only one of those came in the second half as OSU took a double-digit lead in the third quarter.
No. 10 Indiana (17-3, 8-2) hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make it a closer game, but never threatened to take the lead against No. 8 Ohio State (19-3, 9-2).
The Hoosiers had won the last four straight regular season matchups between the teams — all by double digits — including a 24-point victory at Value City Arena last year.
Indiana guard Sara Scalia led all scorers with 25 points and was one of four starters in double-digits. Mackenzie Holmes and Yarden Garzon each had 14 points.
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Indiana women's basketball cracks under the (full court) pressure
Indiana never really adjusted to Ohio State’s suffocating full-court press. The Buckeyes came into the game forcing 21.0 turnovers a game, a number that tops the Big Ten conference and ranks No. 18 nationally.
The OSU backcourt features Jacy Sheldon, a former All-Big Ten defender, and Celeste Taylor, last year’s ACC defender of the year.
Indiana coach Teri Moren grew increasingly frustrated with her team as it turned it over seven times in the first quarter. She finally had enough when her team had consecutive turnovers without getting the ball across mid-court early in the second quarter — one came on the inbounds pass — and burned a timeout to talk it over.
The Hoosiers managed it a bit better to close out the half, but that success was short lived.
Ohio State went on a 16-2 run in the third quarter with IU turning it over five times during that stretch (11 times in the quarter). Moren’s team looked rattled even when they got into its half court offense and played sped up.
Indiana hadn't turned it over 20 times in a single game all season, but that streak came to an end before the fourth quarter on Sunday. The Hoosiers 23 turnovers were the most since they turned it over 24 times in a 53-51 win over Miami on Nov. 27, 2021.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana women's basketball falls in top 10 matchup against Ohio State
