It would have been somewhat excusable to see the Ohio State women’s basketball team experience a letdown after a massive home overtime win over Iowa last weekend.
And it looked like that might be the case for some time on Thursday night against Illinois when the Lady Bucks headed into halftime down 33-22 after scoring just four points in the second quarter. The second half was a different story, however, as OSU outscored the Fighting Illini by 17 points in the second half on its way to a 67-59 victory in Champaign, Illinois.
Jacy Sheldon led Ohio State with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line. She also had six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Cotie McMahon and Celeste Taylor also scored in double figures with 17 and 14 respectively.
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— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) January 26, 2024
It was a major test against a bit of a gut punch vs. an Illini team that is starting to play much better than its 8-10 record, and one where the comeback was orchestrated on the road.
With the win, Ohio State improves to 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten, good to pull into a three-way tie in the conference with Iowa and Indiana. The Buckeyes will next travel to Purdue on Sunday.
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