Ohio State (12-0, 1-0 Big Ten) finished its regular season nonconference slate with an unblemished record after an 84-59 win over Stanford (8-4, 0-1 ACC) on Friday at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
It wasn’t a pretty offensive start for the Buckeyes, who missed each of their first six field goals, but the defense was strong enough to keep the deficit at 2-1. Graduate guard Madison Greene finally made the team’s first field goal at the 6:28 mark with a mid-range jumper.
The Buckeyes’ offense found their stride in the last five minutes of the first quarter behind seven combined points from Greene and senior guard Taylor Thierry.
Thierry and Greene’s baskets fueled the Buckeyes to a 13-4 run in the last 4:53 of the first quarter to take a 16-6 lead in the second quarter.
The Buckeyes extended their lead to 28-12 with 4:31 to go in the first half with an 8-2 scoring run led by graduate forward Ajae Petty and junior guard Chance Gray who combined for all eight points.
Ohio State’s offense went a little cold, scoring only five points in the last 4:30 of the first half. Stanford only slightly cut into the lead though, and the Buckeyes took a 33-19 lead into halftime.
Stanford’s offense looked vastly improved to start the second half. The Cardinal scored eight points in the first 2:36 to cut Ohio State’s lead to 37-27, but the Buckeyes responded with a 14-4 scoring run over 3:33. McMahon started the run with a three-point play before Petty made a second-chance layup a couple of possessions later.
Petty and McMahon combined for five more points before the end of the run to give the Buckeyes a 51-31 lead with 3:51 to go in the third quarter.
A media timeout at 3:39 didn’t do much to help Stanford. Stanford scored eight points in the last four minutes, but freshman guard Ava Watson knocked down two three-point jumpers in that span to keep Ohio State up 57-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
Stanford started the fourth quarter with a layup, but the Buckeyes created an insurmountable lead with a 9-2 scoring run.
Greene started the run with her second 3-point jumper of the game before Stanford guard Chloe Clardy made a layup. McMahon and Gray then combined for six straight points to increase the Buckeyes’ lead to 68-45.
Ohio State only added to its lead in the last seven minutes of the game. Watson and Greene capped a solid offensive stretch that saw the Buckeyes score 16 points in the last seven minutes with back-to-back 3-point jumpers.
It wasn’t her most efficient performance of the year, but McMahon was the Buckeyes’ leading scorer with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field (33.3 percent). The Buckeyes had six players in double figures, including Petty who scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Greene, who finished the game with 15 points, which was the second-most on the team and her season-high.
McMahon and Petty led the Buckeyes in assists with three, while Petty and Thierry tied for the team-high in rebounds with 9.
As a team, Ohio State had a strong shooting night, making 35-of-70 shots (50.0 percent).
Although the turnover differential, (19 for Stanford, six for Ohio State) certainly played a role in the Buckeyes’ blowout win, Stanford’s poor shooting, 23-of-59 (39.0 percent) also played a factor.
Sophomore forward Nunu Agara was Stanford’s leading scorer and biggest bright spot with 17 points while making 6-of-13 field goals.
