Ohio State
Pittsburgh
Late Rally Not Enough As OSU Falls To Pitt 78-74 – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2014
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pitt used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to take control and never look back as it claimed a 78-74 victory over Ohio State Wednesday in Value City Arena.
Ameryst Alston gave the Buckeyes (4-4) hope as she hit her only three-pointer of the night to cut the lead to two at 76-74 with 45 seconds left. But Pitt’s (5-2) Monica Wignot grabbed an offensive rebound and Brianna Kiesel hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to seal the win.
Four Buckeyes scored in double-figures on the night led by freshman Kelsey Mitchell’s 21 points. She also grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists for the first double-double of her career.
Junior Cait Craft had her best night of the year as she tied a career-high with five three-pointers and finished with 20 points. Alston had 16 points and a team-high three steals while Alexa Hart notched her second-straight double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Kiesel led the Panthers with 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Wignot chipped-in with 16 points and five rebounds while Yacine Diop added 14 points and nine boards.
The first half was an up-and-down affair for both sides. Each team each team enjoyed multiple 7-0 runs but they also had pronounced droughts at times.
An Alston lay-in sparked an 11-2 run that included Craft’s third three-pointer of the half. That dug the Buckeyes out of a four-point hole and gave them a 33-28 lead with three and half minutes until halftime. Kiesel hit a running three-pointer at the first half buzzer to send the teams to the locker rooms with the Buckeyes in front 37-36.
The second half was played just as close as the first as there were 14 times and 13 lead changes in the game. Pitt took a 64-57 after a Fred Potvin three-pointer and was able to keep the Buckeyes at arm’s length the rest of the way. Craft’s fifth three-pointer of the night trimmed the lead to 74-71 with three minutes to play but the Buckeyes came up empty on their next three possessions before Alston’s three-pointer with less than a minutes to play.
Key Run
The Buckeyes took its last lead of the game on a Craft freethrow at 57-56 with 10:34 left.
Pitt then got a pair of threes and Chelsey Welch lay-in over thenext 35 seconds to shock the Buckeyes and take a 64-57 lead.
The Buckeyes missed five-straight fields in and around thatspurt.
The run gave Pitt its largest lead at the time and the Buckeyeswere never able to even the score the rest of the eway.
Craft Tops The 20-Point Mark
Junior Cait Craft enjoyed her best night of the year as she finishedwith 20 points on 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The five three-pointers tied a career-high.
It was the third 20-point game of her career and the last since shescored 24 in the win over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament lastMarch.
Mitchell’s First Double-Double
Freshman Kelsey Mitchell notched the first double-double of her careeras she grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to go along with ateam-high 21 points.
She also dished-out five assists and was 6-of-8 from the free throwline.
Outrun
Head coach Kevin McGuff wants his team to get out and push the ball asmuch as possible on the break but tonight, Pitt beat Buckeyes attheir own game.
The Panthers had 15 fast-break points compared to just six for theBuckeyes.
Up Next…
The Buckeyes are in the middle of five-straight home games andwill host Winthrop on Sunday, December 7.
Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
There will be a free clinic for girls and boys 8th grade and belowfollowing the game.
