Ohio State
James Madison
No. 5 Ohio State Runs Past No. 12 James Madison 90-80 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2015
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Ameryst Alston scored a game-high 28 points, Kelsey Mitchell added 23 and Alexa Hart 20 as No. 5-seed Ohio State defeated 12th-seeded James Madison 90-80 in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Saturday afternoon at Carmichael Arena.
Ohio State will face No. 4-seed North Carolina, a 71-65 winner over 13th-seeded Liberty, Monday night for the opportunity to advance to the regional semifinals in Greensboro, N.C.
Ohio State led 47-43 at the break after a back-and-forth first half that featured eight ties and 10 lead changes. Alston led the way with 18 points and scored the final six of the half as the Buckeyes closed on a 6-0 run to take the lead.
The Buckeyes extended the run to 12-0 to open a 10-point lead early in the second half. Mitchell battled foul trouble for much of the second stanza, picking up her fourth foul with OSU up nine with 15:36 play. JMU would cut the lead to four before Mitchell checked back in to the game at the 8:21 mark.
Precious Hall led James Madison with 28 points, while Ashley Perez added 20, hitting 6-of-9 shots.
Postgame Notes
?The Buckeyes improve to 24-21 in the NCAA Tournament, 9-6 in the first round.
?This was the first win for the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament since the second round in 2011 (67-60 over Georgia Tech at St. John Arena).
?Kelsey Mitchell made two 3-pointers in the game and now has 124 for the season. She is two away from tying the all-time single season record for 3 pointers made in a season (126) set by Lisa McMullen of Arkansas State (1990-91) and Sade Logan of Robert Morris (2007-08).
?Mitchell has made at least one three-pointer in all 34 games this season, tying the NCAA record for consecutive games in a season with a three-point field goal. She ties Heather Butler of UT Martin (2012-13) and Siera Thompson of Michigan (2013-14).
?Ameryst Alston played in her 100th career game as a Buckeye.
?Alston has scored 1,531 points in her career and is now 14th on the OSU career scoring chart.
?Alexa Hart recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds. She had seven blocks, adding to her OSU single season record of 128.
?The Buckeyes outscored the Dukes 42-26 in the paint and scored 18 points off of 15 JMU turnovers.
?Ohio State improves to 6-0 all-time against JMU, 3-0 in postseason play.
?OSU scored 90 or more points for the 12th time this season.
