Ohio State (26-6) delivered a strong opening statement in its first-round NCAA tournament game on Friday night easily defeating Montana State (30-4) 71-51.
The Buckeyes appeared to be entrenched in a battle midway through the second quarter, but from 3:17 in the second quarter to 6:18 in the third, they went on a 24-0 scoring run to take full control of the game.
In a contest where both teams came in known for their full-court pressure, it was the Buckeyes who were more disruptive and scored 32 points off of turnovers compared to the Bobcats’ 21 points off of turnovers.
Despite the final score, it was the Bobcats who delivered the first blow though. Star point guard Esmeralda Morales drained two 3-point shots in the first 3:44 of the game to put Montana State up 8-6, and after an Ohio State turnover 11 seconds later, the road team made two free throws to go up 10-6.
The Buckeyes quickly tied the game with a couple of fast-break layups, and after Montana State made a layup, they scored seven straight points to go in front 17-12.
The Bobcats weren’t discouraged by the Buckeyes’ run and instead scored the final five points of the opening frame to tie the score at 17.
Despite missing three free throws in the first 1:30 of the second quarter, Ohio State quickly regained the lead with a 6-0 run over the first 2:37 of the quarter.
Just when it seemed as though the Buckeyes had taken control of the game, Montana State guard Natalie Picton drained a triple to cut the lead in the half. Then after a pair of perhaps questionable calls from the officials, Picton made another three-pointer to tie the game at 23.
After complaining to the officials for a couple of minutes, Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff was called for a technical foul.
The Bobcats took full advantage of the technical as Picton made a pair of free throws and a layup on the ensuing possession.
Ohio State responded from what was a 10-0 Montana State run that lasted 2:16 with its own 9-0 run that spanned the final 3:17 of the first half to take a 32-27 lead.
The Buckeyes picked up right where they left off in the third quarter, as junior guard Chance Gray knocked down a trio of three-pointers to put her team up 41-27.
Gray’s 3-point barrage was only the start of an ideal first half for the Buckeyes, as junior forward Cotie McMahon, freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge and graduate center Ajae Petty each made layups to stretch the run to 15-0. It wasn’t until Morales knocked down a triple that the Bobcats scored their first points since the 5:07 mark of the second quarter.
Morales’ triple did nothing to halt the Buckeyes’ momentum. Ohio State scored eight straight points to take a 55-30 lead.
Montana State ended the third quarter on a 7-0 spurt, but Ohio State still took a 55-37 lead into the final quarter.
If they hadn’t done so earlier in the game, Ohio State extinguished any hope of a Montana State comeback scoring seven of the first eight points in the final frame.
The Bobcats slightly cut into their fourth-quarter lead, but only got within 18 points of the lead before the buzzer sounded and the Buckeyes captured the 20-point win.
The Buckeyes had a balanced approach on offense, as all five starters scored at least 10 points.
Senior guard Taylor Thierry led the way for the Buckeyes, scoring 16 points while shooting 8-of-13 from the field.
Montana State meanwhile was led by Morales, who tallied 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
