Ohio State passed one of its last remaining non conference tests in an 87-39 win over Youngstown State on Sunday.
Led by a tenacious effort from senior guard Taylor Thierry in the full-court press and an early scoring outburst from Junior forward Cotie McMahon, Ohio State grabbed a 16-3 lead in the first 5:26.
The only thing more impressive than McMahon’s 11 points scored in less than 5:30 were Thierry’s four steals in that time span.
Even after the Penguins got back on the board with a 3-point jumper, McMahon provided a response with five straight points, which included her second made 3-pointer of the game.
The Penguins battled back with more consistent offense to end the first quarter and to start the second quarter dwindling down the Buckeyes’ lead to 23-16.
The Buckeyes’ aggressive defense led by Thierry who by the 6:56 mark of the second quarter already had a career-high 6 steals, helped fuel a massive 25-0 scoring run, which lasted over eight minutes.
The scoring run was truly a team effort, graduate guard Madison Greene— who started in place of the injured true freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge— McMahom and senior forward Ajae Petty combined for 15 points during the run.
The Penguins finally broke their 7:50 scoring drought when senior guard Haley Thierry— Taylor Thierry’s twin sister—- knocked down two free throws.
Thierry’s free throws only momentarily stopped the bleeding as the Buckeyes scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 52-18 lead into halftime.
The Buckeyes’ substantial halftime lead didn’t break their sense of urgency in the third quarter. Instead, Ohio State scored the first six points of the quarter to take a 58-18 lead.
Youngstown State finally broke a 13:33 scoring drought in the third quarter with a layup from senior guard Jewel Watkins.
When the scoring drought started, the Penguins only trailed by 7 but by the time it ended, the Buckeyes were firmly in control up 58-20 with 5:56 to go.
Despite the huge lead, the injuries to Jaloni Cambridge and her redshirt sophomore Kennedy meant the Buckeyes had to have at least two starters in the game at all times.
Still, freshman guard Ava Watson recorded her first 3-point basket of the game at the 4:11 mark of the third quarter to give Ohio State a 65-22 lead.
Youngstown State trimmed Ohio State’s lead to 70-30 to end the third quarter, but the Buckeyes responded with a 12-2 run over 5:00 to start the fourth.
The Buckeyes didn’t make a field goal in the last 3:23 but it was still enough to take home the 48-point win.
Ohio State’s fowards were the scoring leaders in the win. McMahon finished the game with 29 points, shooting 9-of-21 from the field (42.8 percentage), while Petty was the team’s second-leading scorer with 19 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field (69 percent).
Petty also led the team in rebounds with 12 while Greene had a team-high 4 assists.
As a team the Buckeyes made 31-of-69 field goals (44.9 percentage).
Youngstown State had a very poor offensive day, shooting 15-of-46 from the floor (32.6 percent) and were led by graduate guard Malia Magestro with 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting.
