Ohio State women’s basketball fresh start in Big Ten Tournament
The beginning of the postseason often represents a fresh start, and the No. 14 Ohio State women’s basketball team is embracing that mindset ahead of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes started 19-0, the best start to a season in program history, despite losing point guard Madison Greene to a knee injury and guard Jacy Sheldon being largely unavailable after the first few weeks of the season. But a loss to Iowa in late January was a stumbling block that eventually derailed Ohio State.
It marked the start of a three-game skid, and the Buckeyes dropped five games in a seven-game stretch.
“I think we had played so well, just found ways to win,” coach Kevin McGuff said, “and then we lost a couple, and our confidence kind of got shaken a little.”
A win at Michigan on Feb. 20 was enough to secure the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, and McGuff felt his team’s energy shift in that win.
They subsequently beat Penn State and then wrapped the regular season with a narrow loss to the Terrapins — a marked difference from their 36-point drubbing at Maryland 19 days prior.
“This our chance to restart and get a fresh start, with the Big Ten Tournament and March Madness,” freshman forward Cotie McMahon said. “I feel like our first game is just a new clean slate. Really just kind of getting back to how we were when were 19-0. Going back to how we played as a team and played together and had fun, and take that into the tournament.”
Ohio State will play the winner of fifth-seeded Michigan on Friday afternoon at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes beat Michigan in both regular-season meetings, a 66-57 win in Columbus on Dec. 31 and a 74-61 win in Ann Arbor.
After McMahon’s attempt at a buzzer-beater to send the Maryland game to overtime left her hand just after the horn sounded — the forward, who was named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year on Tuesday, is bringing an extra level of motivation into the beginning of postseason play.
“I did cry a little bit, just because it’s upsetting,” McMahon said. “I thought we left everything out there. Probably one of the best games we played after going through a little slump. I feel like now, having this little week off, we’re itching to back on the court. This tournament will be exactly what we want it to be.”
Sheldon remains day-to-day with a lower leg injury, which has been her status since she made a brief return at Maryland on Feb. 5, so it’s possible that Ohio State will once again be without her as the tournament begins. The path to a potential Big Ten Tournament title almost certainly will require the Buckeyes to beat one of the teams they came up short against in the regular season, whether it’s Iowa, Indiana or the Terrapins.
“We obviously know what we’re capable of doing,” McMahon said. “We just have to do it. I feel like that game (against Maryland) especially, we did what we’re capable of doing as a team. We didn’t get the best result, but I feel like sometimes we need those games, especially going into the tournament. That’s honestly the biggest motivation we have right now, that game and how we lost.”
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