College Notes: Taylor Mikesell making big impact for Ohio State women's basketball team in first season as a Buckeye

Who said, “you can’t go home again?”

Taylor Mikesell played two seasons at the University of Maryland and one at the University of Oregon. She’s playing her senior year with the Ohio State women’s basketball team.

Mikesell, a Jackson High graduate, is second on the Buckeyes in scoring with an 18.8 average. The 5-foot-11 guard has scored in double figures in all 15 games and has been over 20 points five times. She has connected on 61 of 125 shots from 3-point range (48.8%) and has had three or more in 14 games with a high of five in four games.

Ohio State, ranked 25th in the nation, lifted its record to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten Conference after an 88-83 league victory over Michigan State on Wednesday in Columbus. Mikesell played all 40 minutes and had 25 points, aided by five 3-pointers, five rebounds and two assists.

Just how well has Mikesell adapted to the Buckeyes after playing at Maryland and Oregon?

Junior guard Jacy Sheldon, the team’s leading scorer, tells what it is like to play with her.

“It’s easy,” Sheldon said. “She can do it all — a great teammate and she keeps her defender with her so it creates so much for so many people on the floor. She is a great player.”

Kierstan Bell (McKinley) The junior guard showed off her versatility to lead the Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball team to an easy 100-65 victory at Kennesaw State on Wednesday. Bell had a game-high 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals. And she played just 24 minutes. On the season, Bell is having an All-American type of performance. She leads the 14-1 Eagles in scoring (24.5), rebounding (8.0), steals (27) and blocked shots (21). She is third in assists with 43. Her points per game ranks third in Division I. Bell was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 10, her fourth award this season.

Garett Lautzenheiser (Louisville) The West Virginia wrestling team is 5-3 and Lautzenheiser is starting at 133 pounds as a true freshman. He has a 5-8 overall mark and is 1-5 in dual matches. He captured his first victory in the final meet of the first semester as the Mountaineers topped Cleveland State 24-16 in Morgantown. He posted a 4-2 victory. He had a 134-11 record in his four years with the Leopards and was a 2019 Ohio High School Athletic Association champion.

Victor Marcelli (Jackson) The senior posted a 3-2 record at 174 pounds for the Virginia wrestling team in the Lehman Open on Jan. 7 in Lancaster, Pa. He won his first match 4-1 but lost 3-1 in the second round. He was 2-1 in the consolations with a 10-9 victory and a pin at 1:57. He was eliminated in the consolation round of eight. Marcelli, who shares 174 matches with three other Cavaliers, has a 21-23 lifetime record. A 2018 state champion at Jackson, he went 8-7 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection in 2020-21.

Ben Smith (Hoover) The junior kicked off the second half of the season with a pair of victories for the Cleveland State wrestling team. Smith, competing at 197 pounds, won his match 5-2 in a 19-17 loss to Buffalo and came back with a 5-1 decision in a 24-15 victory over Sothern Illinois-Edwardsville. Both matches were held last Sunday in Buffalo. He is 9-3 on the season with a 6-2 record in dual meets with two falls, a technical fall and a major decision.

Anika Dansby (Massillon) The Waynesburg women’s basketball team is just 1-10 this season but the Yellow Jackets are getting solid play from the 5-4 junior guard. Dansby has started all 11 games and is averaging 4.9 points and is second on the team in rebounding with a 7.3 average. She leads the team in assists with 45 and steals with 16. Dansby had six points and a team-high 10 rebounds in a 75-64 Presidents’ Athletic Conference loss to Washington & Jefferson on Wednesday.

JoJo France (Manchester) The 6-0 senior guard is the leading scorer on the Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball team (4-8 overall, 2-2 Presidents’ Athletic Conference ). France has started all 12 games and is averaging 17.9 points. He has hit 27 of 87 3-point attempts. France averages 3.1 rebounds a game and leads the team in assists (24) and steals (18). He had a career-high 34 points against Bethany (W.Va.) on Nov. 23, aided by five 3-pointers.

Peyton Alazaus (West Branch) The 6-0 freshman guard had a team-high 15 points, but the 4-8 Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball team dropped a 66-52 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West game to Slippery Rock on Jan. 5. Alazaus has started all 12 games and is second on the team in scoring with an 11.0 average. She also averages 3.5 rebounds with 11 steals and eight assists. She started her college career with 26 points in a 60-55 non-league over Frostburg State on Nov. 12.

Tamia Ridley (Massillon) The 5-11 senior forward had 12 points and 13 rebounds, but the Notre Dame College women’s basketball team lost 64-62 in a Mountain East Conference game to West Virginia State on Wednesday. Ridley has had six straight double-double efforts and seven on the season for the Falcons (7-6, 6-2). She leads the team with a 13.2 rebounding average and is also scoring 9.8 points per game.

Erin Hahn (Louisville) The 5-11 junior forward is a key performer on the Division III 22nd-ranked Marietta women’s basketball team (13-1, 6-1 OAC). Hahn had 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in Wednesday's win over Mount Union. She had 19 points and 11 rebounds in a victory over Wilmington on Jan. 8. On the season, Hahn leads the team in scoring (10.1) and rebounding (7.4) with 23 assists, 21 steals and 12 blocked shots.

Nakyah Terrell (McKinley) The 5-6 freshman guard has played in all 13 games with 12 starts for the High Point women’s basketball team (4-9). Terrell had nine points in an 83-73 victory over South Carolina-Upstate on Wednesday. On the season, she is averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds with 22 assists and 10 steals. Terrell had her best game when she scored a college-career high 21 points in a 79-50 loss to Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Nov. 24.

Vincent Zeren (St. Thomas Aquinas) The freshman had a solid debut with the Otterbein men’s indoor track team at the 2021 Oiler Opener prior to the break on Dec. 2-3 in Findlay. Zeren finished fourth in the 60 meters with a time of 7.11. He was the first freshman finisher. He finished sixth in the 200 in 23:09 and was the second freshman to cross the line. The versatile Zeren also finished tied for fifth in the long jump with a leap of 21-0.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Taylor Mikesell, Kierstan Bell scoring at Ohio State, FGCU