Buckeye Blogger Network
Tayler Hill and the Buckeyes didn’t have many positive moments in the loss to Nebraska.
Ohio State entered tonight’s game riding a three game winning streak, their longest this season since Big Ten play started. The Buckeyes knew that keeping that streak going wasn’t going to be easy as they had to face Nebraska in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers came into tonight’s game in second place in the Big Ten and on a three game winning streak against the Buckeyes, all three wins being fairly comfortable ones.
Nebraska got out to an early lead; hitting three of their first four shots to take a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game. Ohio State responded though with a seven point run to go up 7-6 just a bit more than three minutes later. At this point an intense back-and-forth battle started with the two teams trading baskets and the lead for the next eleven minutes with neither team able to take more than a two point lead. That narrow margin was broken when the Cornhuskers scored 5 straight to take a 23-19 lead with a minute left in the half. The Buckeyes would briefly narrow that lead back to a single basket but then Nebraska hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to give themselves a 25-21 lead going into intermission.
Tayler Hill’s game high 26 points and 6 steals led the Buckeyes to victory at Northwestern.
Ohio State traveled to Northwestern riding their first Big Ten winning streak of the season after beating Indiana and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes made a change to the starting lineup for this one as Amber Stokes returned to the lineup, replacing Maleeka Kynard. Stokes had missed several games back in January due to an injury and then had come off the bench to great effect in the past few games.
Ohio State opened the game cold and Northwestern took advantage to score the game first six points. OSU responded though by attacking the paint and went on a 9 to 1 run to take a 9-7 lead with thirteen and a half minutes remaining in the half. Four straight points by the Wildcats gave them back the lead and the two teams began to trade baskets for the next six minutes with neither team able to build more than a three point lead. Northwestern led 19-18 with six minutes to go in the half when Ohio State went on a run, scoring 13 straight to take a 31-19 lead with two minutes left on the clock. The run was made in part by a series of fouls by the Wildcats which sent the Buckeyes to the line and several Northwestern starters to the bench with foul trouble, forcing the Wildcats to go to their rather thin bench. The Wildcats weren’t done though, closing the half on a 7 to 2 run to cut the OSU lead to 33-26 as the two teams headed to the locker rooms.
Freshman Ameryst Alston’s improbable last second shot made her the hero in the double overtime win.
After winning just their second Big Ten game of the year by beating Indiana on Super Bowl Sunday, the Ohio State women’s basketball team hosted Wisconsin in an attempt to finally get a conference winning streak going. This game also represented the first chance at revenge this season for the Buckeyes who lost in Madison last month thanks to a disastrous second half where OSU couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
The first half was a tight, back-and-forth affair where neither team could get much breathing room in a very tough defensive battle where both teams really slowed down the pace of play. Wisconsin opened with a 6-2 lead only to see Ohio State tie it up at 6 after approximately six minutes of action. The Badgers would go back out front, 10-8 before the Buckeyes scored 7 straight to open up a 15-10 lead with just over seven minutes left in the half. Just as it seemed like OSU was going to have some nice momentum, Wisconsin responded with an 8 to 2 run of their own to retake the lead, 18-17, with four minutes remaining in the half. Those last four minutes continued the defensive, back-and-forth nature of the game but Ohio State managed to claw their way to a 26-24 halftime lead.
Tayler Hill scored in double figures for the 54th straight game but that wasn’t enough to overcome Nebraska.
After finally getting their first Big Ten win two weeks ago, Ohio State has lost two straight. The first loss was to hapless Wisconsin while the second was to a top 10 Penn State squad; the common aspect of both losses was disastrous second half collapses where the normally hot shooting Buckeyes couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. OSU’s 11-9 overall, 1-6 Big Ten, record made this game a must win if the Buckeyes want to make the NCAA tournament. The importance of this game was not lost on Coach Foster who tinkered with his starting lineup, inserting Maleeka Kynard and Aleksandra Dobranic into the lineup next to Tayler Hill, Ameryst Alston, and Ashley Adams.
In another new twist, Ohio State opened in a zone defense struggled to match-up well on the perimeter and Nebraska took advantage by hitting a quick trio of three pointers to take an 11-4 lead six and a half minutes into the game. The Buckeyes responded though, capitalizing on some Nebraska turnovers to score 7 straight points, tying the game at 11 midway through the first half. The two teams would go back and forth for the next several minutes before the Cornhuskers went on 10-0 run to take a 34-21 lead with eighteen seconds remaining in the half. Tayler Hill would convert an old fashioned three point play in the closing sections to trim the Nebraska lead to 34-24 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
Wisconsin’s Morgan Paige gave Ohio State nightmares in their loss to the Badgers.
After getting their first Big Ten win of the year against Indiana, the Ohio State women’s basketball team knew that they couldn’t relax heading into today’s game against Wisconsin. Even though the Badgers came into this game as one of the two teams in the Big Ten that still didn’t have a conference win, the game would be in Madison and road wins are always tough to come by in the conference and the Buckeyes had a big hole still to dig out of after losing their first four conference games.
Ohio State got off to a good start, scoring the first seven points of the game on the way to taking an early 10-2 lead. Wisconsin quickly responded though, scoring 9 straight points, helped in part by a pair of costly Buckeye fouls, to take an 11-10 lead about eight minutes into the game. After exchanging a few baskets with the Badgers, the Buckeyes took advantage of three pointers by Cait Craft and Raven Ferguson to score 10 unanswered and retake a 23-14 lead with six minutes left in the half. Wisconsin wasn’t impressed though, putting together a 7 to 2 run to cut the lead to 25-21. OSU would quickly extend the lead to eight but the Badgers took advantage of two Buckeye fouls in the closing minute to cut the OSU lead to 29-25 as the half ended.
Tayler Hill looked good in returning to action after an illness, leading OSU to their first Big Ten win of the year.
Its only mid-January but for the Ohio State women’s basketball team tonight’s game against Indiana was a must win. An 0-4 start to Big Ten play, the worst in the history of the program, had led to OSU being dropped from the national rankings and had essentially destroyed any realistic hopes of winning a Big Ten title. Starting with tonight’s game the Buckeyes were battling for a first day bye in the Big Ten tournament and an NCAA tournament berth. OSU got a boost heading into this game as Tayler Hill and Maleeka Kynard both returned to action after sitting out last game due to illness.
Ohio State did not get off to a good start as they missed their first six shots from the field, taking more than three and a half minutes to hit their first field goal. Fortunately Indiana wasn’t really shooting any better and at the first television timeout the game was tied at 2 points for each team. The Hoosiers scored the first four points out of that tv timeout but then the Buckeyes responded with a 10 to 2 run to take a 12-8 lead with eleven minutes remaining in the half. Indiana quickly retook the lead with a 9 to 2 run of their own before OSU countered with six straight points to go ahead 20-17 with five minutes on the clock. The two teams would essentially trade baskets for the rest of the half with the Buckeyes managing to extend their lead to 30-24 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
Cait Craft got her first career start at Ohio State but that wasn't enough to lift the team past Purdue.
Ohio State entered tonight’s game looking to break their three game losing streak and avoid getting off to their worst ever start in Big Ten play. That task wasn’t an easy one as the Buckeyes would be playing at #12 Purdue without starting guard, and best defensive player on the team, Amber Stokes. OSU’s job got even harder when before the game it was revealed that star guard Tayler Hill and sophomore guard Maleeka Kynard would also miss the game due to illness. The missing players forced a different starting lineup, with Ashley Adams, Darryce Moore, Ameryst Alston, Raven Ferguson, and Cait Craft getting the starting nod; this was the first career start for Craft.
After scoring the first basket of the game, the Ohio State offense struggled and the Buckeyes found themselves in a 14-5 hole eight minutes into the game. The next four minutes would see the two teams trade baskets before OSU scored seven straight to pull within one point, 19-18, with six and a half minutes remaining in the half. The Boilermakers answered right back though, scoring nine unanswered to extend their lead to 10. Ohio State chipped away a bit of that lead in the final two minutes but went into halftime trailing 30-24.
Ameryst Alston scored a career-high 15 points but that wasn't enough to lift Ohio State to victory.
Sorry for this recap being late, have been at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach this week and due to various conference obligations I didn’t get a chance to cover the game earlier.
After starting Big Ten season with two losses, the Ohio State women’s basketball team headed to Minnesota looking for a much needed win. Making matters more difficult for the Buckeyes was the loss of senior guard Amber Stokes to a sprained knee against Illinois; Stokes is expected to be out four weeks but should return in time for the end of conference play. With Stokes out, Raven Ferguson got the starting nod; Darryce Moore also returned to the starting lineup, replacing Aleksandra Dobranic.
The two teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of the game but then Minnesota used a 10 to 2 run to open up a 19-9 lead just over seven minutes into the game. A minute later Tayler Hill decided she had enough of the double digit deficit, scoring seven points in a minute and a half to key a 9 to 2 OSU run that cut the Golden Gopher lead to 23-20 just past the midpoint of the half. Minnesota quickly stretched that lead back to 8 points and then continued to take advantage of Buckeye turnovers, and an OSU defense that was a step slow, to extend their lead through the remainder of the half. When the horn finally sounded for halftime, the Buckeyes found themselves facing a giant 50-31 deficit.
