No. 12 Ohio State Finishes January Strong with Win Over Purdue

Kevin McGuff's Ohio State Buckeyes continue to dominate in conference play.

Behind sophomore forward Cotie McMahon’s near triple-double, the Ohio State Buckeyes finished the month of January undefeated in West Lafayette, Indiana, in a down-to-the-wire 71-68 conference battle over the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday.

Despite coming off back-to-back games with 15-plus points, McMahon — who is not known for her innate passing ability — started dishing the ball early, picking up three quick assists in the first quarter.

Purdue freshman guard Rashunda Jones started cooking early as well, going 3-4 from the field with seven points.

The Buckeyes cracked down on their defense in the second quarter, limiting the Boilermakers to just eight total points. McMahon continued to dish out great passes in transition and the Buckeyes led by six at the half.

Senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova started the first three quarters very hot, leading all scorers with 15 points before going out early in the fourth with four fouls.

Senior guard Jacy Sheldon, despite not having a big scoring game nor picking up her first bucket until a minute left in the third, stayed active on the defensive end with two steals and great on-ball defense. The Dublin, Ohio, native didn’t sit a minute the whole game.

However, the starters really started to come alive in the final period, combining for all 18 points.

McMahon finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

However, the Buckeyes allowed the Boilermakers to creep back into the game late, being outscored by Purdue by just four points in the fourth. However, neither team had a bucket in the last four minutes outside of a late 3-pointer from Purdue senior guard Abbey Ellis with six seconds left.

The Buckeyes shot very well the whole game, thanks to 20 points off turnovers and 32 points in the paint.

Ohio State seems to have figured things out as they return to one of the top conference teams. With just two ranked games remaining on the schedule, the Buckeyes could hope to stay in their groove before March.

The Buckeyes return to action Thursday in Columbus to face Wisconsin at 6 p.m., streaming on Big Ten Network.