Short-handed Buckeyes roll over Minnesota behind McMahon and Mikesell
The hits keep coming for the Ohio State women’s basketball team, but Wednesday night the Buckeyes were undeterred.
Playing without Jacy Sheldon and losing 6-foot-4 forward Rebeka Mikulasikova to an injury early did not stop Ohio State from routing Minnesota 93-63 at Value City Arena.
On paper, this wouldn’t look like an unexpected outcome. The Golden Gophers (9-15, 2-11 Big Ten) have now lost five straight.
But the Buckeyes needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Minnesota 83-71 in Minneapolis on Jan. 5 for the 16th of their 19 straight victories to open their season. Since that start, Ohio State (21-4, 10-4) had lost four of five games to fall from No. 2 to No. 13 in the Associated Press rankings.
The Buckeyes looked like their old selves against the Gophers even without Sheldon and the loss of Mikulasikova.
“I just thought our effort, our energy and our enthusiasm was much better tonight and more like what it’s been when we’ve been at our best this year,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said.
Sheldon returned from a lower-leg injury in Sunday’s blowout loss to Maryland but was held out of Wednesday’s game.
“Nothing has changed,” McGuff said of Sheldon’s recovery. “She still feels fine there, but just in terms of just getting her whole body back and going, we’re still sort of in management mode. We did have her practice a little bit. We’re still sort of just picking and choosing, making decisions how much to bring back right now.”
Mikulasikova was injured when bumped hard under the basket a little more than four minutes into the game. She could not put weight on her left leg as she was helped off the court.
McGuff said it was likely a high ankle sprain.
Their absence did not slow the Buckeyes. Minnesota had no answer for the inside-outside combo of Cotie McMahon and Taylor Mikesell.
McMahon used her strength and quickness to drive for baskets or fouls on her way to 25 points.
McGuff called McMahon “One Speed Cotie” for her aggressiveness.
“It is what it is,” McMahon said with a laugh. “That’s how I am.”
Mikesell, who’d been in a shooting slump, was 6 for 6 on 3-pointers and finished with 24 points.
“It was good to see them go in, but I think we all did a good job of getting out in transition and we got some easy looks and they went in,” said Mikesell, who was honored before the game for scoring 1,000 points in her two years as a Buckeye.
Ohio State jumped ahead 21-4 seven minutes into the game and made 11 of 13 shots in the second quarter for a 52-33 lead at halftime.
Minnesota committed 23 turnovers, many against the Buckeyes’ pressure defense.
“In what we’ve been struggling on, they can really make your pay,” McGuff said. “Our transition defense hasn’t been great, and our 3-point defense hasn’t been great, and those are things that really hurt us up there. I thought we were significantly better in our press today than we were in Minneapolis, and that sort of set the tone for the game.”
Mikesell hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, and Minnesota was never within 20 points after that.
Taylor Thierry had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for Ohio State. Eboni Walker, who replaced Mikulasikova, had 12 points and six assists, and Hevynne Bristow added 10 points.
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