Ohio State (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten) lost its third straight road game on Thursday night, falling to Indiana (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) 71-61.
The Buckeyes’ loss was marked by a mediocre defensive effort where they allowed the Hoosiers to shoot 25-of-46 (54.3 percent) from the field and 9-of-17 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range. Despite forcing 21 turnovers in the game, Ohio State’s press and half-court defense had several lapses, which allowed the home team to have an efficient night offensively.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers couldn’t have provided a more high-flying start in the first quarter. The two Big Ten rivals each scored 11 points in the first 2:43. Offensively, freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge was the source of the Buckeyes’ early offensive production, scoring six of the team’s first 11. Defensively, the Buckeyes’ full-court press was completely ineffective early on, as Indiana scored six of its first eight points in transition. The Buckeyes momentarily went out of their pressure, but Indiana’s offense was just as good in the half-court. After a perfect 5-of-5 shooting start the Hoosiers made four of their next five field goals to take a 21-15 lead.
Ohio State ultimately went back to its press after a timeout from head coach Kevin McGuff, but Indiana scored the last 5 points of the quarter to take a 26-17 lead.
The Buckeyes looked like a completely different team in the second quarter. Junior forward Cotie McMahon knocked down a 3-point shot and a layup in a span of 27 seconds to lead her team on a game-tying 9-0 scoring run.
The Buckeyes’ momentum was short-lived. Indiana made a trio of 3-point jumpers as part of a 14-2 scoring over the final 7:30 of the first half. The Hoosiers’ run which was aided by the Buckeyes shooting only 1-of-8 during the stretch, had them up 40-28 at halftime.
The Buckeyes couldn’t put their poor start behind them in the second half. After Cambridge opened the third quarter with a 3-point jumper, the Hoosiers extended their lead to 14 with an 8-2 scoring run.
19 seconds after a timeout from McGuff, graduate guard Madison Greene drained a 3-point jumper, but the Buckeyes’ defensive issues persisted and they gave up seven straight points over nearly three minutes.
After allowing only one field goal over the final 5:53 of the third quarter, Indiana drained a 3-point jumper right before the buzzer sounded to take an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Ohio State’s defense was better to start the final frame, but offensively McGuff’s squad only managed 4 points in the first 4:22 of the fourth quarter.
Indiana provided some life to the Buckeyes when junior guard Yarden Garzon was issued a flagrant foul at the 5:38 mark.
The flagrant foul helped Ohio State score five straight points and cut Indiana’s lead to 60-48, but seven points scored by Garzon in a 53-second span pushed the lead right back out to 17.
The Buckeyes ended the game on a 9-2 scoring run, but it was too late to make a difference as the Hoosiers still won the game by 10 points.
Despite the loss, Cambridge had a solid performance for the Buckeyes, she scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Cambridge also dished out a team-high two assists and tied senior guard Taylor Thierry for the team lead with four rebounds.
Indiana had a balanced scoring effort in its win and was led by junior guard Shay Ciezki, Garzon and graduate guard Sydney Parrish, who each scored 16 points.
