Sunday was a chance for Ohio State to rebound after a second-half comeback fell just four points shy, Thursday night.
The Buckeyes made the most of the opportunity, needing no second half surge this time. The Scarlet and Gray came out hot from the opening tip, downing B1G-leading Purdue 90-70 behind a three-point scoring barrage.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | f |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 24 | 14 | 22 | 30 | 90 |
| Purdue | 14 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 70 |
The Scarlet and Gray simply lit it up from behind the arc. Five different Buckeyes knocked down a three, led by Kelsey Mitchell with five on nine attempts and Shayla Cooper who shot a perfect 4-4. As a team, the Buckeyes shot 13-23 from three-point range.
"We shot the ball really well today, and I think that was obviously the difference in the game," said Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff.
Four different Buckeyes scored in double digits, led by the scoring duo of Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell who combined for 52 points, scoring 25 and 27 points respectively.
The scoring barrage came against one of the better defensive teams in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers entered the game ranked in the top-50 in both scoring defense and transition defense. Purdue allows just 2.7 fast-break points per game – Ohio State quadrupled that number finishing with 12 points.
There was one aspect of the game McGuff was not happy with, and it's something that's bothered this team all season – rebounding. "We didn't rebound the ball really well," said McGuff. "They played really hard on the glass and we let them get too many offensive rebounds." Ohio State lost the rebounding battle 40-28 with no player pulling down more than five boards.
All in all, how did this performance compare to Thursday night's? "Night and day," said McGuff. The Buckeyes never lacked energy, never lost focus and really controlled the game from the tip. The Boilermakers led just once, taking a 10-8 lead early in the first quarter.
"We beat a really good team today and we did it because we had great focus and energy," said McGuff.
With the win, Ohio State retakes the lead in the conference with a 5-1 just record before back-to-back road tests against Michigan and Rutgers.
