Buckeyes Do it Again, Top Michigan and Heads to B1G Finals
3/7/2020 11:02:58 PM | Women's Basketball
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – As smooth as Friday night’s win over Iowa was, Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal game vs. Michigan was just as much of a grind. But the gritty Buckeyes pulled out a 66-60 victory and head to Sunday’s championship game to face No. 6 Maryland.
Ohio State (21-11), led from the start until a Michigan (21-11) scored five of the first six points of the fourth quarter to pull even at 47-47. Freshman Jacy Sheldon then had a big steal and lay-in to spark a 7-1 run and the Buckeyes wouldn’t give up the lead the rest of the way.
All five Buckeyes starters finished in double figures led by freshman Madison Greene with 13 points. She scored eight points and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 3:37 of the fourth quarter.
Sheldon finished with 11 points and had another huge steal and lay-in with less than 10 seconds to play to seal the victory.
Sophomore Dorka Juhasz notched yet another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. This was her sixth double-double in the last seven games.
Fellow sophomore Aaliyah Patty finished with 11 points and six rebounds while junior Braxtin Miller chipped-in with 10 points, three assists and three steals.
Janai Crooms was the spark the team desperately needed in the second quarter. The Buckeyes’ leg looked heavy but Crooms gave them a boost as she scored six of her eight points in the quarter. She also assisted on a pair of buckets.
Freshman Kierstan Bell knocked-in a three and also had three blocks inside as she played tough defense on Michigan’s standout Naz Hillmon.
Hillmon still got hers however, as she finished with a game-high 22 points. But it was the Buckeye defense on her in the final quarter that was the difference. She made just two shots and scored just five points in the closing 10 minutes.
Both teams looked sluggish in the early going. The entire first quarter was played in a four-point span and the Wolverines led 16-14 after one. A 13-2 OSU run in the second quarter, sparked by the six points from Crooms, gave the Buckeyes a lead that they held to the break at 32-26.
The OSU lead grew to as many as 12 on three different occasions in the third quarter but a 9-2 Wolverine run to end the quarter led the just a 46-42 Buckeye lead heading to the fourth. After the UM run, Greene and Sheldon took over and willed the Buckeyes to victory.
Any day that ends with a win over your rival is a good day but it was made even sweeter as Buckeyes all over the country joined in the fun. Ohio State went 9-0 on the day in various athletic events and eight OSU wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships.
It’s a great day to be a Buckeye!
#GoBucks
