OSU uses historic comeback to beat Indiana in Big Ten Tournament semifinal

On Mar 4, 2023

Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell dribbles past Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil.

Ohio State wanted to flip history on Indiana in the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament semifinal.

After falling to the Hoosiers as the No. 1-seed in last season’s conference tournament semifinal, the Buckeyes, a No. 4-seed, aimed to exact revenge against the top-seeded Hoosiers on Saturday. The Buckeyes had not beaten Indiana in two regular-season matchups.

At first, it seemed Ohio State was caught in Indiana’s buzz saw, watching the Hoosiers break free with an 18-2 first-half run and take as large as a 24-point lead. But Ohio State stormed back, cutting their deficit to four points with a 25-9 run.

In the fourth quarter, Ohio State didn’t want to only flip recent history with Indiana, but Big Ten history, aiming to make the largest comeback ever at its conference tournament. A Rikki Harris layup with 37 seconds left put Ohio State in the history books, beating Indiana 79-75 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Ohio State’s 24-point comeback ties the Big Ten record for the largest in any conference game in history.

Two free throws by Jacy Sheldon secured the win. Ohio State will take on either Iowa or Maryland in the final on Sunday.

Trailing by seven points with 5:30 to go, Sheldon took control, scoring six straight points to bring Ohio State to within a point. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell gave Ohio State its first lead since the first basket of the first quarter.

In the final 5:30, Ohio State limited the Hoosiers to five points and four made field goals on 18 shot attempts.

Ohio State’s initial offensive woes were unprecedented. The Buckeyes scored only 26 points in the first half — the least of the season — with one 3-point make on 13 attempts.

It was a run Indiana took advantage of, using a 16-0 first-half run to break free, including double-digit scoring performances by Sara Scalia and Grace Berger in the first 20 minutes.