No. 2 Ohio State loses second consecutive game after third quarter collapse at No. 6 Indiana

Indiana's Sydney Parrish (33) shoots over Ohio State's Rikki Harris (1) during the first half of the Indiana versus Ohio State women's basektball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.
Indiana's Sydney Parrish (33) shoots over Ohio State's Rikki Harris (1) during the first half of the Indiana versus Ohio State women's basektball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

At the beginning of this week, the No. 2 Ohio State women's basketball team was on a 19-game win streak, one of two undefeated teams remaining in the country and setting program records for the best start to a season in history.

But the Buckeyes had yet to face Iowa and Indiana, the other two top programs in the Big Ten. After losing to No. 10 Iowa at Value City Arena on Monday, their next matchup was No. 6 Indiana at Assembly Hall on Thursday — hardly setting the table for a bounce-back game following the first loss of the season.

Ohio State played a steady first half against the Hoosiers, leading by four points at halftime, but Indiana methodically broke down the Buckeyes and breaking the game open in the third quarter to hand Ohio State its second consecutive loss, 78-65.

"It snowballed on us, obviously," coach Kevin McGuff said. "It was disappointing because we thought we had played a pretty good first half, put ourselves in a position right where we wanted to be. To come out and have that type of third quarter was certainly not ideal."

Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff watches during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff watches during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Freshman forward Cotie McMahon — never one to shy away from a big moment — was unbothered by the raucous crowd of 10,455 at Assembly Hall in the first half. As senior guard Taylor Mikesell scored only eight first-half points and sophomore guard Taylor Thierry landed in early foul trouble, playing just 10 minutes of the first half, McMahon took control of the Buckeyes' offense and led the way with 18 points in the first half.

Balanced scoring was a key facet of Ohio State's undefeated run to open the season, particularly after the Buckeyes (19-2 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) lost both Jacy Sheldon and Madison Greene to injuries, but in the last two games, they've lacked the explosive performances from individual players that helped them win games earlier in the year. McMahon scored a team-high 21 in both games, but Mikesell, who entered the week averaging 18.5 points per game, scored 12 Monday and 15 against Indiana (19-1, 9-1) while shooting a combined 3-of-15 from the perimeter.

Ohio State's Cotie McMahon (32) is defended by Indiana's Grace Berger (34) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Ohio State's Cotie McMahon (32) is defended by Indiana's Grace Berger (34) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

As things fell apart for the Buckeyes in the third quarter, Ohio State scored six points to Indiana's 27, while turning the ball over six times. The Hoosiers went on a 17-0 run from 7:48 of the third quarter to the 3:34 mark. Following a timeout by McGuff at that point, McMahon converted an and-one after a driving layup, but Ohio State then had another three-plus minute drought as Indiana pieced together another run, this time 7-0.

By the fourth quarter, McMahon was in foul trouble — she fouled out with 4:50 left — and while the Buckeyes' offense rallied for 23 points in the final 10 minutes, it was far too late to dig them out of the hole.

As a result of the loss, Ohio State dropped to third place in the Big Ten standings. Indiana is the new No. 1 team in the conference and Iowa is No. 2.

"(The Big Ten is) a very competitive environment, which I think will be beneficial to everybody when it's all said and done," McGuff said. "We've faced some adversity this week, which is probably a really good thing. We need to really find out who we are — or, I should say, get back to being who we are.

"We played two great teams this week. They both deserved to beat us. We have to take that information, what we saw this week, and get back to practice and make sure we can get better and be at our best come March."

bjohnson@dispatch.com

@BaileyAJohnson_

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State falls to Indiana 78-65 for second straight loss