This was the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions’ lone meeting of the season.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 13/14 Ohio State Buckeyes (22-5, 11-5 B1G) beat Penn State (13-13, 4-11 B1G) on Thursday evening by a 67-55 margin in the teams’ lone meeting of the season.
Ohio State got off to a quick start, leading by as many as 12 points in the opening quarter and holding the 21-16 advantage after 10 minutes. The Buckeyes outscored the Nittany Lions 17-10 in the second quarter to lead 38-26 at halftime. OSU allowed just five points in the third quarter, leading 51-31 after 30 minutes. The Buckeyes earned the 67-55 win with 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Cotie McMahon was the first in the game to reach double figures, doing so early in the second quarter and finishing with 17 points and added a career-high 11 rebounds for the first double-double of her collegiate career. Rikki Harris finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and assists assists. Taylor Thierry reached double figures in the fourth quarter and totaled 13 points as she went 5-of-7 from the floor.
How it Happened
Ohio State got on the board first before Penn State took a 5-3 lead on a triple. A 12-0 OSU run gave the Buckeyes a 15-5 lead with 5:32 to play in the quarter, forcing a Nittany Lions timeout. Ohio State called timeout with 1:33 remaining in the first after five-straight PSU points cut the OSU lead to 19-12. Ohio State led 21-16 after 10 minutes.
The Buckeyes used an 11-2 run over three minutes to build the lead to 34-20 with 5:25 to play before halftime. Ohio State had the final two baskets of the half to take a 38-26 lead into the locker room.
Both teams started slowly in the third quarter with each scoring four points in the first four minutes. Ohio State held the 42-31 lead midway through the quarter. The Buckeyes scored the final nine points of the quarter to extend their lead to 20 at 51-31.
Ohio State opened the fourth quarter with a trio of three-pointers to stretch the lead to 60-31 with 7:37 to play. Penn State answered with the next six points on the floor before an OSU timeout. The Nittany Lions extended their run to 15-0 to cut OSU’s lead to 60-47 with less than two minutes to play. Scoring was capped on a Penn State layup.
Game Notes
- The Buckeye defense held Penn State to single digits in the third quarter, the 10th time this season an opponent has scored less than 10 points in a quarter against the Buckeyes.
- Ohio State totaled at least 20 assists for the 11th time this season.
- Cotie McMahon was the first to reach double figures, doing so for the 18th time this season and finishing with 17 points. She earned her first double-double by grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds.
- Rikki Harris scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, totaling 15 points. She had seven assists, just one shy of her career-high.
- Taylor Thierry reached double figures for the 20th time this season, finishing with 13 points and making 5-of-7 from the floor.
- Q1: Ohio State made eight of its first 11 field-goal attempts.
- Q3: The Buckeyes won the rebounding battle 15-9 while forcing the Nittany Lions to shoot just 11.8 percent.
Up Next
Ohio State travels to No. 12/13 Michigan on Monday for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be broadcast live on FS1.