Ohio State Women's Basketball Defeats James Madison, Advances in NCAA Tournament
The Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball team defeated James Madison 76-66 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes shot 40.6 percent on 26-of-64 from the field while the Dukes finished 23-of-58 for a 39.7 percent field-goal clip.
The Dukes won the rebound battle 44-36 and had better luck from beyond the arc, 18.8% to 11.8%.
Buckeyes freshman guard Cotie McMahon led both teams with 18 points in her postseason debut, one point ahead of Dukes senior guard Kiki Jefferson with 17.
The Dukes started out hot, taking an early lead and going into both the second quarter and halftime ahead on the scoreboard. Both teams returned to the locker room with JMU on top, 37-34.
Additionally, James Madison held the Buckeyes to only 14 points and 5-of-15 from the floor in the first stanza, while shooting 9-of-15 for 26 points themselves.
However, Ohio State turned things around and outscored the Dukes in each of the last three quarters. The Buckeyes took their first lead of the game in the third quarter and entered the final frame ahead by a slim, 54-50 margin.
Where the difference was made was in a number of categories where Ohio State outperformed the Dukes, including assists (17 to four), steals (ten to three) and blocks (four to one). James Madison also had 20 team turnovers compared to Ohio State's seven.
Ohio State moves on to the second round of the tournament on Monday, where they will play the winner of No. 6 North Carolina and No. 11 St. John's at Value City Arena.
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