No. 2 Ohio State suffered its second loss this week and just the second of the season on Thursday, falling on the road 78-65 at No. 6 Indiana.
The Buckeyes (19-2, 8-2 Big Ten) were unable to contain Indiana guard Mackenzie Holmes, who led the Hoosiers (19-1, 9-1) with 26 points, while Ohio State had a poor outing from the field, including a 20.0 percent mark from deep.
Ohio State opened up the competition with a floater from guard Taylor Mikesell – giving her 2,000 points for her college career – before taking a 16-8 lead just over six minutes into the contest. The Buckeyes got off to a positive start in enemy territory as the Hoosiers were just 3 of 10 from the field to begin the game.
Ohio State was held without a point for the remainder of the quarter, though, as Indiana closed on a 9-0 run to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the first.
After trading the lead four times to begin the second quarter, the Hoosiers increased their advantage to 23-20 with 7:26 left in the frame. Freshman forward Cotie McMahon – who had six points in the opening frame – responded with nine of Ohio State’s next 11 points to give the Buckeyes a 31-25 lead.
Ohio State later headed into the locker room up 36-32, with McMahon and Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes each boasting 18 points. Outside of McMahon, the Buckeyes had just 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while the Hoosiers had only 14 points on 5-of-23 shooting.
Indiana then opened on an 17-2 run through the first six minutes of the second half to take a 49-38 lead. During that stretch, the Buckeyes were just 1 of 7 from the field, with the Buckeyes’ only basket courtesy of a driving layup by guard Taylor Thierry.
McMahon stopped the bleeding by converting on an and-one opportunity, but the Hoosiers closed the frame on a 10-1 run to lead 59-42 going into the fourth. The Buckeyes were outscored 27-6 in the third while shooting just 16.7 percent from the field.
Ohio State cut the deficit to eight points on multiple occasions in the fourth but were unable to complete the comeback as several players experienced foul trouble, including McMahon, who fouled out in the final frame as the Buckeyes fell 78-65.
McMahon led the Buckeyes despite fouling out, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Thierry added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Mikesell added 15 points.
Beyond Holmes’ 26 points, Indiana guard Yarden Garzon had 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while guard Sydney Parrish had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Buckeyes will return home to take on Purdue on Sunday, with tip off set for 1 p.m.
