Ohio State Clinches Top Seed in Big Ten Tournament with 79-66 Win vs. Maryland

Sunday, February 25

Columbus, Ohio

2:00 PM

Ohio State

24-3,15-1Big Ten

Maryland

16-11,8-8Big Ten

Maryland

Ohio St.

Ohio State Clinches Top Seed in Big Ten Tournament with 79-66 Win vs. Maryland

2/25/2024 5:42:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball

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The Buckeyes improved to 15-1 in conference play with a win on senior day.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2/2 Ohio State Buckeyes (24-3, 15-1 B1G) beat Maryland (16-11, 8-8 B1G) by a 79-66 margin on Sunday afternoon's senior day.

Ohio State used a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter to build a 21-13 lead after 10 minutes. The Buckeyes extended their lead to 44-31 at halftime following a 23-18 second quarter. Maryland came out strong in the third quarter to cut the Ohio State lead to 60-55 after 30 minutes. The Buckeyes scored the first six points of the final quarter and capped a 79-66 win by not allowing a Maryland basket for the final 3:53 of the game.

Celeste Taylor was the first in the game to reach double figures and tied her season-high 20 points. Jacy Sheldon joined Taylor in double figures in the first half on her way to 17 points and matched her season-high six assists. Cotie McMahon (15), Taylor Thierry (10) and Rebeka Mikulášiková (11) also scored in double figures as the entire Buckeye starting lineup had at least 10 points apiece.

How it Happened
Taylor scored the first five points for the Buckeyes before a 5-0 Terrapins run gave Maryland its first lead of the game at 7-5. Ohio State responded with a 7-0 run to lead 12-7 with 5:48 remaining in the opening quarter. The Buckeye defense held the Terrapins to one basket in the final 4:50 of the quarter, while the OSU offense converted a trio of triples to extend the lead to 21-13 after 10 minutes.

Maryland opened the second quarter with a three-pointer and Ohio State responded with the next five points to stretch the lead to double figures for the first time at 26-16. The Buckeyes used a 7-0 run to extend the lead to as much as 33-19 with six minutes before halftime. The Terrapins got as close as seven points, trailing 37-30 with 2:17 remaining in the quarter. McMahon scored the final four points of the half to send the Buckeyes to the locker room with a 44-31 lead.

The Buckeyes opened scoring in the third quarter but a 7-0 Terrapins run forced OSU to call timeout with 6:39 to play in the quarter and a 48-40 lead. Maryland cut the Ohio State lead to six at 48-42 before back-to-back Buckeye baskets. The teams alternated scoring before the Terrapins doubled up to end the quarter and cut the Buckeye lead to 60-55 after 30 minutes.

Ohio State scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to lead 66-55 but Maryland responded with the next five to trim the Buckeyes' lead to 66-60 with seven minutes remaining. The OSU defense allowed only two Maryland baskets in the final seven minutes of the game to win 79-66 with a McMahon jumper capping scoring.

Highlights

Game Notes

With the win, the Buckeyes clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State leads the conference with this being its 16^th regular season title.
The Buckeyes last shared the regular season title during the 2021-22 season.
Ohio State's 15^th Big Ten win of the season is the most the Buckeyes have had since the 2015-16 season when they went 15-3 in conference play.
The Buckeyes extended their conference win streak to 14-straight games, the longest win streak in conference play since the 2005-06 season when they also won 14 in a row.
The Buckeye defense has totaled at least 10 steals in 17 games this season, including 10 steals today.
All five of the Buckeye starters scored in double figures.
Celeste Taylor was the first in the game to reach double figures, doing so in the second quarter and for the 15^th time this season. She tied her season-high 20 points, her second time to 20 points this season.
Jacy Sheldon reached double figures for the 24^th time this season and totaled 17 points. She tied her season-best six assists for the fifth time.
Cotie McMahon scored in double figures for the 21^st time this season and had 15 points.
Taylor Thierry's 19^th double figure game of the season was good for 10 points.
Rebeka Mikulášiková scored in double figures for the 13^th time this season and finished with 11 points.
Q1: Ohio State shot 8-of-13 (.615) from the floor and 4-of-8 (.500) from long range in the quarter.
Q2: The Buckeye defense forced five turnovers and recorded four steals to bring their first half total to seven steals and 10 forced turnovers.
Q4: Ohio State out-rebounded Maryland 10-5 in the final frame and was 7-of-13 (.538) from the field.

Up Next
Ohio State hosts Michigan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Buckeyes' final regular season home game. The game will be broadcast on Peacock and AM1460.

Single game, group tickets and suites for the 2023-24 season are still available. 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. Season tickets for the 2024-25 season are now on sale and can be purchased HERE.

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