No. 10 Indiana Commits Season-High 23 Turnovers, Loses 74-69 at No. 8 Ohio State

No. 10 Indiana women's basketball (18-3, 9-2) played at No. 8 Ohio State (19-3, 10-1) Sunday afternoon and lost by five points. The Hoosiers committed 23 turnovers, their most all season, and struggled to beat Ohio State's press.

COLUMBUS, Ohio. — No. 10 Indiana women’s basketball had more turnovers than points in Sunday’s third quarter. The Hoosiers blew a five-point halftime lead and ultimately lost 74-69 at No. 8 Ohio State.

Indiana committed 23 turnovers Sunday afternoon, which surpassed its previous season high by three. Ohio State welcomed Indiana's miscues and turned them into 21 points. With fewer turnovers, Sunday's top-10 matchup could have swung in Indiana’s direction.

“21 points off of our turnovers,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “That’s the game right there. We could dissect it any way you want, but that’s the game.”

Ohio State is renowned for its full-court press, and head coach Kevin McGuff said that the Buckeyes intensified their pressure in the second half, which helped fuel the comeback. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 11 times in the third quarter alone, one more than in the opening 20 minutes. Ohio State outscored Indiana 23-10 in that span.

“I have to take responsibility for making sure that we're always ready,” Moren said. “We knew that they were going to press, we’ve had two days to prepare for it … I’ll take all the blame for the press attack today … For two days against our scout guys they did a decent job, but it was still concerning because their pressure and Ohio State’s pressure looks a little bit different.”

The Hoosiers went into the second quarter trailing 18-11, still searching for their first 3-pointer, while Ohio State had already hit four. Sara Scalia was silent early, but she went on to lead Indiana with 25 points and three 3-pointers by the final buzzer. She got it going in the second quarter, scoring nine points and hitting a three to mute the Ohio State home crowd.

Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon responded with back-to-back steals plus an and-one basket to put the Buckeyes up 25-18. Rather than the wheels quickly falling off, which happened at No. 4 Stanford, the Hoosiers outscored Ohio State 19-7 from that point on in the second quarter. It was the grittiness they needed – the kind they lacked at Iowa down the stretch.

But similar to its loss at No. 3 Iowa, Indiana crumbled in the third. McMahon scored eight points, her most of any quarter, and finished with 20 points and five assists. Guard Jacy Sheldon, who has played well versus ranked foes this season, led Ohio State with 25 points. 

Indiana’s Yarden Garzon hit back-to-back threes in the final minute, and Scalia made three free throws to cut the deficit to three. But Scalia missed a late 3-pointer and the Buckeyes hit just enough free throws to close out the win, reminiscent of Ohio State's overtime win at Iowa.

Holmes matched Garzon with 14 points, but she struggled in the third. Indiana's All-American didn’t score and had four turnovers in the six minutes she played. 

McGuff said Sunday that Ohio State's scheduling helped the team prep for Holmes. In a blowout win over Wisconsin on Thursday, Ohio State held Wisconsin's sophomore forward Serah Williams to 16 points after she scored 31 points in the previous game against Rutgers. 

Holmes had her third-lowest scoring game of the season on 6-for-12 shooting, a drop off from her 66.8 field goal percentage this season. She missed four layups, and Indiana went 16-for-28. 

Both teams drained six three-pointers, and Indiana even got to the line more. However, it put up six fewer shots in the five-point loss, plagued by 10 more turnovers than Ohio State. 

Indiana is now 9-2 in the Big Ten and dropped to second place, behind Ohio State and Iowa at 10-1. Indiana hosts Michigan State at 7 p.m. ET Thursday, and the game will air on Peacock.

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