An Ohio State basketball team has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time all season.
After starting the season 22-3, Ohio State women’s basketball (22-5, 11-4) suffered its second consecutive loss on Wednesday. Three days after blowing a 19-point lead vs. Maryland, No. 10 Ohio State suffered a 74-61 road loss against No. 23 Minnesota (21-6, 12-4).
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #10 OHIO STATE | 16 | 13 | 13 | 19 | 61 |
| #23 MINNESOTA | 14 | 12 | 27 | 21 | 74 |
Once again, the game got away from the Buckeyes in the second half as they were outscored 48-32 after halftime.
Ohio State led for most of the first half after going on a 12-0 run between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter to take a 23-14 lead. The Buckeyes cooled off from there, scoring only six points in the final seven minutes of the first half, but still took a 29-26 lead into halftime.
Their lead quickly turned into a double-digit deficit in the third quarter as Minnesota started the second half on an 18-4 run. The Buckeyes went on a 7-0 run from there to cut the deficit to four, but Minnesota finished the third quarter on a 9-2 run to make it an 11-point game again. Minnesota scored seven of the first nine points of the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 16.
An 11-2 Ohio State run that included two 3-pointers by Chance Gray and another by Jaloni Cambridge cut Minnesota’s lead to seven with 3:38 to play. After a three by Minnesota’s Mara Braun, Elsa Lemmilä and Cambridge combined for back-to-back layups to make it a six-point game. That was as close as Ohio State would come to turning the game back in its favor, however, as Braun hit a jumper and Grace Grocholski made her fourth three of the game to extend Minnesota’s lead back to 11 with less than a minute to play. Braun hit a pair of free throws on Minnesota’s next possession, then rebounded a missed shot by Cambridge to secure the Gophers’ 13-point win.
Cambridge (23 points) and Gray (17 points) were Ohio State’s leading scorers in defeat. Sophie Hart (18), Braun (18), Amaya Battle (13) and Grocholski (12) all scored in double figures for the Golden Gophers.
The Buckeyes are now just 4-5 this season against ranked opponents following their losses to Maryland and Minnesota. Wednesday’s loss dropped Ohio State to fifth in the Big Ten standings, knocking them out of position for a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament as things currently stand.
Ohio State will look to get back on track against an unranked opponent on Sunday (2 p.m., FS1) as it hosts USC at the Schottenstein Center.
