After finishing the regular season unbeaten at home, Ohio State went on the road to Maryland for one last regular season game. The #12 ranked Buckeyes battled the #19 ranked Terrapins. Ohio State and Maryland took each other to overtime that had a wild finish.
Ohio State’s Madison Greene tied the game with less than eight seconds to go and it looked like maybe a second overtime was around the corner, but Maryland knocked down a three with one second to go that proved to be the game-winner, as they won 93-90.
Ohio State was led by Taylor Thierry and Ajae Petty. Petty had her third double-double in a row with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Thierry led the Buckeyes in scoring with 21 points. Cotie McMahon was next with 18 points. Freshman sensation Jaloni Cambridge had a quiet day for her with 10 points.
Ohio State and Maryland went back and forth battling on the scoreboard and around the rim. Ohio State was outrebounded 37-32, but they outscored Maryland 46-40 in the paint. The game inside and forwards wouldn’t be the deciding factor in this one.
Maryland’s speed gave them a little more of a decisive edge and allowed them to take advantage in turnovers, transition offense, and ball movement. Turnovers proved to be a huge deciding factor. Both teams had a lot, with Ohio State having 19 and Maryland having 18.
But Maryland made more out of the turnovers they got from the Buckeyes, with 25 points off Ohio State miscues to the Buckeyes' 17 off of the Terps. Maryland also had a 17-10 advantage in points in transition. Maryland also was better at passing the ball with 18 assists to Ohio State’s 10.
Despite the loss to Maryland, Ohio State still finished third in the Big Ten and will be the third seed going into the tournament this week. The winner of Iowa and Wisconsin will battle Michigan State for the chance to take on the Buckeyes on Friday, March 7th, in the quarterfinals.