No. 3 OSU's defense forces TOs, tops No. 14 Michigan 66-57
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Taylor Mikesell scored 16 points and Rikki Harris added 14 as No. 3 Ohio State won its 15th straight without a loss, coming from behind to beat turnover-prone Michigan 66-57 on Saturday.
Cotie McMahon had 12 for the Buckeyes (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten), who forced Michigan into a season-high 27 turnovers. Ohio State has forced at least 20 turnovers in all but two of their games this season.
Cameron Williams paced the Wolverines (12-2, 2-1) with 18 points, and Maddie Nolan and Emily Kiser each chipped in 10.
In the first half, there were a combined 23 turnovers and neither team could make an outside shot until late in the first half. Ohio State was 0 for 7 from 3-point range until Harris and Mikesell finally hit long shots with just under four minutes left in the half.
Ohio State was down by as many as eight points in the first quarter. The Buckeyes fought back thanks to similarly cold shooting from the Wolverines. Emma Shumate hit a 3-pointer from the corner before the buzzer to give the Buckeyes a 30-27 lead at the intermission.
Ohio State went on a 15-3 run and led by as many as 16 before Michigan cut the deficit to 50-41 at the end of the third quarter when Leigha Brown got a steal and Maddie Nolan went to the basket for a layup at the buzzer.
Michigan cut the lead to two with 6:47 left when Nolan hit a 3-pointer, just the second of the game for the Wolverines.
Ohio State opened it up to 64-52 on Rebeka Mikulasikova’s first 3-pointer with 2:58 left. Michigan had a 5-0 run late, but a pair of foul shots by Harris sealed it. She had seven of her points from the line.
Brown, who averages 15.3 points for Michigan, fouled out with just over 3 minutes left and finished with eight points.
The Buckeyes won despite shooting only 35%. but Michigan could only manage 37.3%.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan: The Wolverines defense was as a good as it was billed, but they turned the ball over too often thanks to the Ohio State pressure defense and couldn’t make shots.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes had 16 turnovers and escaped despite uncharacteristically poor shooting. Mikesell was double-teamed and hit 4 of 16 from the floor.
UP NEXT
Michigan: Hosts Penn State on Tuesday.
Ohio State: At Minnesota on Thursday.