Friday, December 22
Columbus, Ohio
1:00 PM
Ohio State
84
vs
55
Belmont
No. 13 Ohio State Defeats Belmont in Non-Conference Finale
12/22/2023 4:38:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball
The Buckeyes won by an 84-55 margin on the back of Jacy Sheldon’s 31 points.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 13/13 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2, 1-0 B1G) defeated Belmont (7-4) on Friday afternoon inside Value City Arena in the non-conference finale by an 84-55 margin.
Ohio State scored the first six points and the last seven points of the first quarter to lead 21-15 after 10 minutes. The Buckeyes closed the first half with a 38-28 lead after a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Rikki Harris. Ohio State used a 29-19 third quarter to extend its lead to 67-47 after 30 minutes. The Buckeyes allowed only one field goal in the final quarter to cap scoring at 84-55.
Jacy Sheldon was the first Buckeye into double figures, doing so in the second quarter and tied her season-high 31 points today. Celeste Taylor (15) and Rikki Harris (10) also scored in double figures. Eboni Walker recorded a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. Taylor Thierry finished with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
How it Happened
Ohio State scored the first six points of the game, holding Belmont scoreless until 6:21 remaining in the quarter. The Bruins got within one at 8-7 before a layup from Taiyier Parks sent Ohio State into the media timeout with a 10-7 lead. Belmont took its first lead at 15-14 with 2:24 to play in the first. The Buckeyes scored the final seven points of the quarter, wrapping with a last-second triple from Sheldon to lead 21-15 after 10 minutes.
The Bruins scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 22-21 lead with 8:34 remaining in the half. A layup from Sheldon gave the Buckeyes a 26-24 lead midway through the quarter. Ohio State closed the first half with a 10-2 run to take a 38-28 lead into the locker room following a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Harris.
Taylor opened the third quarter with a three-pointer before the teams traded baskets, including four consecutive OSU triples. The Buckeyes held a 56-39 lead with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. Ohio State capped the quarter with the final seven points to build its lead to 67-47 after 30 minutes.
Sheldon had the quarter's first five points as the Buckeyes led by a 72-47 margin with seven minutes to play. Ohio State increased its lead to 79-51 with four minutes remaining following a three-pointer from Emma Shumate. Diana Collins capped scoring at 84-55 with a jumper.
Highlights
Ohio State wraps up the 2023 calendar year at Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for noon in a game broadcast on FOX and AM1460.
Tickets for the 2023-24 season are now on sale. For more information, visit ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Contact the ticket office with any questions at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2) or athletic.tix@osu.edu.
Ticket links: Holideals are back! Enjoy buy one, get one free tickets for select games (listed below). This offer runs through December 31st at midnight. Use promo code: TMN241
Upcoming games included in Holideals:
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 13/13 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2, 1-0 B1G) defeated Belmont (7-4) on Friday afternoon inside Value City Arena in the non-conference finale by an 84-55 margin.
Ohio State scored the first six points and the last seven points of the first quarter to lead 21-15 after 10 minutes. The Buckeyes closed the first half with a 38-28 lead after a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Rikki Harris. Ohio State used a 29-19 third quarter to extend its lead to 67-47 after 30 minutes. The Buckeyes allowed only one field goal in the final quarter to cap scoring at 84-55.
Jacy Sheldon was the first Buckeye into double figures, doing so in the second quarter and tied her season-high 31 points today. Celeste Taylor (15) and Rikki Harris (10) also scored in double figures. Eboni Walker recorded a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. Taylor Thierry finished with nine points and a game-high nine rebounds.
How it Happened
Ohio State scored the first six points of the game, holding Belmont scoreless until 6:21 remaining in the quarter. The Bruins got within one at 8-7 before a layup from Taiyier Parks sent Ohio State into the media timeout with a 10-7 lead. Belmont took its first lead at 15-14 with 2:24 to play in the first. The Buckeyes scored the final seven points of the quarter, wrapping with a last-second triple from Sheldon to lead 21-15 after 10 minutes.
The Bruins scored the first seven points of the second quarter to take a 22-21 lead with 8:34 remaining in the half. A layup from Sheldon gave the Buckeyes a 26-24 lead midway through the quarter. Ohio State closed the first half with a 10-2 run to take a 38-28 lead into the locker room following a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Harris.
Taylor opened the third quarter with a three-pointer before the teams traded baskets, including four consecutive OSU triples. The Buckeyes held a 56-39 lead with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. Ohio State capped the quarter with the final seven points to build its lead to 67-47 after 30 minutes.
Sheldon had the quarter's first five points as the Buckeyes led by a 72-47 margin with seven minutes to play. Ohio State increased its lead to 79-51 with four minutes remaining following a three-pointer from Emma Shumate. Diana Collins capped scoring at 84-55 with a jumper.
Highlights
- Q1: Theirry steal and score
- Q1: Taylor spin move
- Q1: Sheldon buzzer triple
- Q2: Taylor three-pointer
- Q2: Harris buzzer beater
- Q2: Sheldon euro step
- Q3: Thierry through defenders
- Q4: Sheldon open triple
- The Buckeye defense has forced 20+ turnovers in 10 games this season as Belmont turned the ball over 23 times today.
- OSU's defense totaled at least 10 steals for the eighth time this season, finishing with 11 steals.
- Ohio State made a season-high 12 three-pointers as a team.
- Jacy Sheldon scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and tied her season-high 31 points after 18 points in the first half. This is her sixth 20+ point game of the season and third game in the last four games with 30+ points.
- Sheldon is the first Buckeye since Taylor Mikesell last fall to record 25+ points in back-to-back games.
- Sheldon moved up to ninth in program history in career steals as she now totals 215.
- Celeste Taylor earned her fourth double-figure performance of the season by tying her season-high 15 points.
- Rikki Harris reached double figures for the second time this season, totaling 10 points.
- Eboni Walker finished with a season-high eight points and seven rebounds.
- Q1: Ohio State forced six turnovers in the opening quarter and had a 9-6 advantage in rebounds.
- Q2: The Buckeye defense then forced seven turnovers in the second quarter and totaled five steals.
- Q3: Ohio State shot 11-of-14 (.786) including a perfect 6-of-6 from long range during the quarter.
- Q4: The Buckeyes shot 7-of-13 (.538) from the floor and allowed just one field goal in the quarter.
- Head Coach Kevin McGuff on facing his daughter, Kilyn:
- "It was surreal. Obviously I'm very proud of [Kilyn McGuff] and what she's accomplished, who she's becoming as a young woman most importantly. But to see her play in person was a great experience for me. It was a little nerve wracking on the other side of the court but it was fun. I love the Belmont program – they're great people. They have a great culture and they're going to win a bunch of games so it was a great win for us and fun to see my daughter play."
- Graduate guard Jacy Sheldon on Rikki Harris' buzzer-beaters:
- "It builds momentum for us and from there we will work off that but that's what Rikki is. Rikki's energy and amount of excitement she brings to the game and how much she shares the ball and her ability to guard and score too is really special."
- Belmont junior guard Kilyn McGuff:
- "It was pretty cool. I worked out with [Jacy Sheldon] a lot over these past few years in the summer so it was cool to see that on the court and guard her and have her guard me."
- "I caught myself at some points second guessing and thinking, '[Coach McGuff] is right there. That's kind of crazy.'"
Ohio State wraps up the 2023 calendar year at Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is scheduled for noon in a game broadcast on FOX and AM1460.
Tickets for the 2023-24 season are now on sale. For more information, visit ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Contact the ticket office with any questions at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2) or athletic.tix@osu.edu.
Ticket links: Holideals are back! Enjoy buy one, get one free tickets for select games (listed below). This offer runs through December 31st at midnight. Use promo code: TMN241
Upcoming games included in Holideals:
- Thursday, January 11th vs. Rutgers
- Thursday, February 1st vs. Wisconsin
- Wednesday, February 14th vs. Nebraska
- Wednesday, February 28th vs. Michigan
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