No. 2 Ohio State women clinch No. 1 seed in Big Ten Tournament, defeating Maryland 79-66
It was appropriate that it happened on senior day.
No. 2 Ohio State's 79-66 victory over Maryland on Sunday at Value City Arena secured both the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and, at the very least, a share of the regular season conference title.
With both Iowa and Indiana sitting at 13-3 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes, who are 15-1, cannot be overtaken with two more games left in the regular season, and Ohio State holds the tiebreaker over both the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes for the tournament.
"I mean, it's pretty cool, but we still got two more games left that we want to outright win it," OSU guard Celeste Taylor said. "So, just trying to stay focused."
If Ohio State beats Michigan on Wednesday, the Buckeyes will clinch their first outright Big Ten championship since 2010. Ohio State did share the Big Ten regular season title with Iowa back in 2021-22.
Taylor and Jacy Sheldon, both who were among those honored before the game, took charge for the Buckeyes early in the matchup. They combined for 14 points while going 3 for 5 on 3-point attempts, to help Ohio State build a comfortable 21-13 lead in the first quarter.
When she joined the Buckeyes, Taylor, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was not known for her offense, but that part of her game has started to come to the forefront lately.
"I think she's finally starting to click in our offense and it's exciting," Sheldon said. "Not only does she score well, she does everything well for us. She passes well, she rebounds well and she plays D."
Averaging 8.5 points per game when Ohio State suffered their only conference loss of the season, a Dec. 30 defeat in Ann Arbor against Michigan, Taylor had improved that number to 9.8 points entering Sunday. The transfer had also seen a jump in her 3-point average in that time frame, from 23.9% to 32%.
Against Maryland, Taylor scored 20 points and went 3 for 7 from behind the arc.
The Buckeyes' offense would hit a lull, going almost two and a half minutes without scoring a basket starting around the midway mark of the second quarter. That gave the Terrapins an opening to cut down Ohio State's 14-point lead, but the Terrapins were unable to connect on multiple opportunities.
"I was really proud of our kids for making sure we had the poise to continue to execute and do the things necessary to come away with a win," said Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff.
The score sat at 33-24 by the time OSU found a way to get back on the board with two Cotie McMahon free throws. Through the first two quarters, half of McMahon's 8 points came off free throws. The sophomore has occasionally struggled in this area but finished a perfect 4-4 Sunday.
Ohio State went into halftime ahead 44-31, with Taylor and Sheldon still leading the way for the Buckeyes, both already having reached double-digits. Sheldon ended with 17 points.
Maryland came out in the second half stronger, with the Terrapins' whole starting lineup contributing to an early 9-0 run. Ohio State started to answer back but had their momentum temporarily stunted when McMahon was whistled for a foul that could have gone either way and then subsequently was handed a technical for arguing the call.
With four fouls, McMahon headed to the bench with 10 points and a little over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
This season, the third quarter has normally been Ohio State's best. Indeed in January's matchup with Maryland, it was when the Buckeyes started to build a comeback to defeat the Terrapins on the road. Sunday, it was a different story as the visitors outscored OSU in the third 24-16, led by Jakia Brown-Turners' 10 points.
"Honestly, we called off the press a little bit towards the end," Taylor said. "But it was just helping each other, playing our defense how we know how to play and just trying to be in the gaps."
Entering the fourth quarter ahead 60-55, Ohio State was able to keep Maryland at arm's length and really came alive when McMahon reentered the game with 6:16 remaining. Hitting a 3-pointer with her first shot in the fourth, McMahon added five more points to bring her total to 15.
"She did a good job in the fourth quarter," McGuff said. "She's an emotional player and obviously she got a little bit upset there, but she really got locked in and focused."
Ohio State will have a chance to avenge its loss to the Wolverines when Michigan visits Wednesday. That will be followed by the Buckeyes' regular-season finale, a trip to Iowa City to face Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women clinch top seed in Big Ten Tournament
