Ohio State was unable to continue its recent success against top-10 teams vs. Iowa.
In a clash of teams who had both won seven straight games entering Sunday, No. 10 Iowa bested No. 12 Ohio State, handing the Buckeyes (18-3, 7-2) their first loss of January in lopsided fashion.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 OHIO STATE | 14 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 70 |
| #10 IOWA | 24 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 91 |
With Ohio State forward Kylee Kitts sidelined for a second straight game due to a shoulder injury, Iowa exploited its size advantage over the Buckeyes, outrebounding Ohio State 48-30 and scoring 42 points in the paint to Ohio State's 14.
Ohio State took an early 8-2 lead off of back-to-back 3-pointers by Ava Watson and Chance Gray, but things quickly went south for the Buckeyes from there. Iowa outscored Ohio State 22-6 for the rest of the first quarter to take a 10-point lead. The Hawkeyes made five 3-pointers in the second quarter, extending their lead to as many as 19 points before taking a 16-point advantage of 48-32 into halftime.
Iowa extended its lead to 20 points by the end of the third quarter and continued to control the game through the fourth quarter, finishing with a 21-point win.
Jaloni Cambridge had her first career double-double in defeat, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Gray added 16 points and Watson scored 10, but Ohio State got just three points from its bench compared to 33 for Iowa.
Ohio State is now 2-3 vs. top-10 opponents this season. The Buckeyes beat Maryland (ranked No. 8 at the time) and No. 9 TCU earlier this month, but lost to No. 1 UConn in November and No. 3 UCLA in December.
The Buckeyes, who are now tied with Michigan State for fourth in the Big Ten standings behind UCLA, Iowa and Michigan, will look to bounce back when they host Wisconsin at the Schottenstein Center on Thursday (8 p.m., Big Ten Network).
