For the first 19 games of the season, the Ohio State women’s basketball team was on a roll. Buckeyes swallowed up injury Jaycee Sheldon and Madison Green and somehow continued to win.
That luck ended a month ago when Iowa inflicted first defeat on Ohio. Suddenly what began as a dream season – 19 straight wins for the second time in program history, and best start — began to fall apart. The Buckeyes lost again to Indiana, Purdue, Maryland and Indiana within three weeks, only managing to win against the worst Big Ten feeders.
But after winning 12th at Michigan on Monday, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff sensed something different about his team. The Buckeyes were returning to the form they had in the first 19 games of the season.
Friday at the Value City Arena in a rematch against the No. 7 Terrapins after lost by 36 points on February 5, No. 16, Ohio, in a split second, saw that luck had returned. It was decided that freshman forward Coty McMahon, who backed off in the last second, left her arm just after the buzzer sounded, giving Maryland a 76–74 victory rather than forcing overtime.
But after the Terrapins’ dominance in the first meeting, Friday’s defeat was markedly different. The Buckeyes went toe-to-toe with Maryland for the full 40 minutes but eventually lost.
“I told them it must be very, very painful,” McGuff said. “When you put so much energy, effort, unity into a game and you don’t win, it’s really hard. It must hurt. This is the hard part of college athletics.
“But we came out of College Park three weeks ago and, frankly, we didn’t compete. We weren’t supposed to feel bad. enough into it. Tonight we have invested enough to win. They just played a couple more games than us. That was the difference.”
It’s a cliché at this time of year when all the tight and intense games are like March madness, but a Friday ending wouldn’t be out of place in the NCAA Tournament. Maryland’s biggest lead was seven points midway through the second quarter, and Ohio State’s biggest lead was five points late in the third quarter.
At the end of the fourth quarter, both teams had a two-plus-minute zero drought, but the drought came with the Terrapins leading 75–73, and that was enough to turn the tide. McMahon was fouled with 2:38 left and made one free throw to cut the lead to 75–74, but that shot was the last shot made by Ohio State.
“We had our chances,” McGuff said. “We had some decent shots. They made one throw more than us. Disappointed that we didn’t win, but proud of our efforts.”
With 11.3 seconds left, and with the Terrapins still leading 75–74, Maryland’s Abby Meyers walked to the free throw line and landed one of two shots to put Maryland ahead by two. Ricky Harris was fouled on approach and went to the line but missed both shots. McMahon hit an offensive rebound and missed a layup under the basket, but the ball stayed in Ohio State with 5.9 seconds left.
Maryland kicked the ball out of bounds, forcing the Bakeevs to reset with 4.7 seconds left. Taylor Thierry’s jump shot bounced off the ring and McMahon got up from hitting the buzzer, which would have resulted in overtime.
For a time, the Buckeyes maintained a brief hope, but officials ruled that McMahon’s shot was fired just after the last buzzer sounded. Despite two not counting, McMahon finished with a team-high 20 points.
“I just think we just need to get a little better,” McGuff said. “We had a couple of misunderstandings, a couple of transition protection errors that we didn’t get tonight. Just removed them and really strengthened. Today was a one possession game, so they all matter.”
With a loss, Ohio State ended the regular season 23-6 overall and 12-6 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes finished 4th in the Big Ten tournament after defeating Michigan on Monday, so their next game will be Friday in Minneapolis in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
“I think we were kind of funky, but I think in the last week, 10 days, we played a lot better,” McGuff said. “We were where we needed to be. Now we need to get some rest and polish some things before we head to Minneapolis.”
Taylor Mixell Honored Before Final Home Game at Ohio State
Prior to the game, senior guard Taylor Mixell was the only player to receive the Senior Night honor. An Ohio state spokesman said that Mikesell, being the only player honored, does not indicate that other players who remain eligible have chosen to use the year; There has been no talk of their return yet.
It was clearly an emotional evening for Mixell, who watched videos of her teammates expressing what she meant to them before taking to the court with her parents and brother.
Mikesell’s college basketball path began in Maryland, followed by a year in Oregon – a year that was a very difficult task for Mikesell – before the Massillon native returned to Ohio to finish her university career. In just two years at Ohio State, she ranks sixth in program history in three-pointers, and earlier this year she scored both 2,000 career points and 1,000 points as a Buckeye.
On Friday, she went 4 of 9 from the perimeter and 6 of 16 overall to finish with 18 points. Mixell also recorded three assists and an interception, playing the full 40 minutes.
“Coming home meant a little more to me after going through what I went through,” Mixell said. “Just thankful to McGuff and the coaching staff for taking me in like I didn’t know what baggage I had and didn’t even know if I could play the year I came. Just give credit to him and the others. coaching staff for bringing me here.”
bjohnson@dispatch.com
Get More Ohio State News by Listening to Our Podcasts
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State lost at the last second to Maryland’s regular season final
Source: sports.yahoo.com
