Ohio State Pulls Away Late on Senior Day In Win vs. Maryland
Unlike most Buckeye games this season, Sunday’s came down to the wire.
On what was certainly an emotional Senior Day for several Buckeyes, Ohio State extended their win streak to 14 with a 79-66 win over Maryland Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes also extended their win streak to eight in front of their home crowd, as they honored graduate guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor, senior guard Rikki Harris and graduate forwards Taiyier Parks, Karla Vres, Eboni Walker and Rebeka Mikulasikova.
Ohio State and Maryland went back and forth for the first few minutes. The Lady Terps were hitting from all cylinders in the first quarter but the Buckeyes’ man full-court press, which came out much earlier than usual, forced five turnovers in the first.
In addition, perhaps non-coincidentally on Senior Day, Taylor came out of the half with 13 points, including going 3-4 from downtown.
However, Maryland kept it close almost the whole half, trailing by just 13 after the first 20. Sophomore guard Bri McDaniel cooked late in the second, finishing the half with 13 points, including a great two-way play — she blocked Buckeye sophomore guard in transition on the defensive end and came down the other way and hit a transition 3 herself.
The Buckeyes had trouble recovering in the first half, leaving them vulnerable to corner 3s. Senior guard Brinae Alexander started a perfect 3-3 from downtown early, as Ohio State got caught on multiple fade screens.
Although Ohio State has performed extremely well in third quarters this season, it was Maryland who dominated the quarter. The Terps cut it to a five-point game, outscoring the Buckeyes 24-16 in the quarter.
McDaniel stayed hot in the second half, finishing with 21 to go along with Alexander’s 16.
While the Buckeyes have not been a particularly great free throw-shooting team, that made all the difference Sunday. Ohio State went 14-16 from the line to propel them to a victory.
Even if they had a slow third quarter, the Buckeyes came up big in the fourth, outscoring Maryland 19-11.
In addition, Ohio State had a great distribution of scoring, especially in the second half, with all five starters finishing in double figures led by Taylor’s season-high 20.
The Buckeyes round out their home schedule against rival Michigan — who gave them their last loss Dec. 30, 2023 — Wednesday at 7 p.m., streaming on Peacock.
