Before Ohio State hosts a marquee matchup against Caitlin Clark and No. 3 ranked Iowa Sunday, the Buckeyes had to take care of business at Value City Arena against an up-and-coming Michigan State .
Though there were times when it looked like Ohio State was going to be handed their second conference loss this season, the Buckeyes pulled ahead at the end to pick up a 70-65 victory, holding the Spartans to well below their average of 89.9 points going into the game.
"I don't think we would have won this game three weeks ago," Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. "I don't think we would have stopped them enough today to get the win. I just think we've gotten a little bit better to put ourselves in positions to win games like this."
Rebounding, an area OSU has struggled in, ended up being an "extremely important" factor as the Buckeyes outrebounded the Spartans 41-35.
"They're a good team, a physical team," Ohio State's Rikki Harris said. "Those extra chances on offense or on defense to get the ball back were very important, and we made some big rebounds at some big times."
Ohio State was led by the efforts of Jacy Sheldon , who put up 18 points, and Taylor Thierry, who recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Sheldon got the game going for Ohio State with a long jumper for two, but then the team went cold. OSU began the day 1-5 from the field. Falling behind early in the first quarter, the Buckeyes flipped the advantage in their favor 8-6, finding opportunities in the paint off of fastbreaks.
Despite being ranked last in rebounding in the Big Ten conference, averaging just over 35 boards per game, Ohio State finished the quarter outrebounding Michigan State 10-6.
Harris, who was sidelined for the Rutgers game on Thursday due to illness, contributed with 4 quick points and two rebounds, helping put OSU out in front 20-18 when the quarter ended. Harris finished the game in double-digit scoring with 11 points in as many minutes.
"I'm feeling great," Harris said. "Missing the last game wasn't up to me, probably the best choice but wasn't up to me. So, I was itching to get back on the court."
Ohio State was able to hold off Michigan State for a portion of the second quarter, but the visitors tied up the game with 6:35 before halftime.
The Buckeyes' shooting woes allowed the Spartans to eventually take the lead going into halftime 37-34. In the second quarter, Ohio State hit just five of its 15 field goal attempts, with only one made basket from beyond the 3-point line.
In what was a physical matchup from the beginning, both the Buckeyes and Spartans were flying all over the floor going for every loose ball or block they could grab to start the third quarter. Cotie McMahon's layup with 6:07 in the third led to a Buckeyes 6-point run to pull ahead 45-41.
McMahon's performance against Michigan State was her best since the Buckeyes victory over Ohio University on Dec. 5. She has been trying to work out of a funk and has been especially crucial to the team's success. In Ohio State's three losses this season, McMahon scored fewer than 8 points and grabbed no more than six boards.
Also struggling with foul trouble, specifically a lot of calls that could go either way, McMahon's team sees how she has overcome her troubles, especially against the Spartans.
"Her energy was great. She played extremely hard, she made a lot of big plays," McGuff said. "I was really happy, too, in the first half when she was driving, they were running three people at her and she's spraying it out to open people."
Going into the final quarter tied 50-50, Ohio State started to take over, going on an 8-point run to take their biggest lead of the day. The Spartans did not go quietly, bringing the game back within 3 points with 5:27 left.
Rebeka Mikulasikova , who was trying to drive to the basket all day, started to finish and, by the end of the game, had recorded 6 points in the paint. She scored 10 overall.
"We knew that I was one of the biggest people on the court," Mikulasikova, who is 6-foot-4, said. "So, I just tried to take advantage of that and ask for the ball and be more active, and my team did a great job of passing the ball."
The Buckeyes now head to Maryland for a game against the Terrapins on Jan. 17 before Iowa comes to Columbus for a matchup. Tickets for the game next Sunday can still be purchased on the secondary market.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women defeat Michigan State in a close Big Ten matchup
