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Ohio State women's basketball's troubles from 3-point range continue
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- Ohio State women's basketball's troubles from 3-point range continue
Ohio State women's basketball has climbed into the AP top 25 after starting the season unranked , but to remain ranked, the Buckeyes need to break out of their current 3-point shooting slump.
OSU is second-to-last in the conference from the perimeter, averaging 28.5%. Northwestern, which Ohio State defeated 79-70 in its Big Ten opener, is the lone conference team with a lower average (27.4%).
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"It's tough because I think we have good shooters," Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said, "and they work on it too. Everybody on our team, they work before practice, they work on their games. That's not the issue, for sure.
"So, I think we can continue to decide to make sure we take good shots, make sure that we get some balance of what we're doing out there, so we just don't fall in love with the 3 if it's not going in."
Signs of the Buckeyes' 3-point troubles emerged early. They went 27.1% (38-for-140) from beyond the arc across their first five games.
Ohio State found a short-lived hot streak during its upset victory over formerly ranked West Virginia on Nov. 26, recording a season-high 45.5% from 3-point range, going 10-for-22. In the following game against Niagara , the Buckeyes went 10-for-24 (41.7%).
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The momentum died with a week-long break between the Niagara and Northwestern games. Starting with that game against the Wildcats, the Buckeyes have hit just 11 out of their most recent 56 attempted 3-pointers. That's despite the fact that Northwestern (No. 222 entering the week in 3-point defense), Northern Kentucky (No. 340), and Toledo (No. 346) aren't exactly locking down opposing shooters.
"We didn't take a lot of contested ones," McGuff said. "Sometimes when you're taking bad, contested ones, you say, 'Hey, we've got to quit taking those.' I don't think that was the case; I thought we were open. We were shooting, but we weren't making them."
Ohio State guard Chance Gray (2) makes a 3-point shot against Kent State on Nov. 19.
Guard Chance Gray leads Ohio State with 14 3-pointers. That's less than half the number of 3-point baskets she had recorded at this point last season.
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Overall, Ohio State shot 34.2% from beyond the arc in 2024-25.
Ohio State added Gray from Oregon in 2024 and T'yana Todd from Boston College in 2025 to boost its outside shooting, as they both led their former teams from 3-point range. Todd has just 11 on the season, something the senior acknowledges needs to improve.
"We're making shots in practice," Todd said. "I just think we've got to stay disciplined."
Ohio State guard T'yana Todd has just 11 3-point field goals this season.
While the Buckeyes have struggled from 3-point range, they've relied heavily on their defense to generate offense, scoring 110 points off turnovers the last three games.
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"If we shoot eight in a row, eight threes in a row, and miss, then we need to try something else, because obviously that's not working," Ohio State center Elsa Lemmila said. "We start driving more to the basket, Jaloni [Cambridge] got a lot of mid-post or long twos, which I think is a much better shot than a three that doesn't go in."
Ohio State has games against Norfolk State and Western Michigan before starting its Big Ten season in earnest. That begins with a home matchup against No. 4 UCLA on Dec. 28.
The Bruins have been holding their opponents to 28.3% shooting from deep.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women's basketball ranks 17th in Big Ten from 3-point range
