Kierstan Bell's Success Fuels OSU's Winning Streak

Buckeyes have won four in a row entering Sunday game at Indiana

OSU women’s basketball is making a big push for the NCAA tournament with freshman guard Kierstan Bell leading the way.

The Buckeyes (15-9, 8-5) are on a four-game win streak – their longest of the season. They are fifth in the Big Ten with a 2 p.m. tip Sunday (Big Ten Network) at Indiana (20-6, 10-4) affording a chance to climb one spot higher in the standings.

UPDATE: Madison Greene scored 22 points, including two free throws with one second left to ice an 80-76 Ohio State victory Sunday at Indiana.

The Buckeyes are getting 🔥🔥 as the season winds down. @OhioStateWBB pulled off the upset 80-76 vs No. 20 Indiana on the road. Make that 5 straight W's. pic.twitter.com/S6ncTsCWDq

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 16, 2020

OSU gained some serious momentum with Thursday’s conference win over Minnesota, in which they wiped out the Gophers,m 99-76. It was the first time all season that the Buckeyes scored 20 or more points in every quarter.

That traced to the team's 67.7 percent shooting – its best performance of the season.

Freshman guard Madison Greene led the Buckeyes with a career-high 25 points and career-high seven assists.

Bell also had yet another standout performance, contributing 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. All six freshmen on the young Buckeye squad impressed, combining to shoot 21-of-31 for 65 points against the Gophers.

.@OhioStateWBB is catching fire at the right time...last night marked four-straight wins for the Buckeyes. 🔥 @OhioStAthletics pic.twitter.com/GAqeQP1eZ1

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) February 14, 2020

A lot of buzz surrounding the Buckeyes has been the impressive performances from Bell, who has scored 44 points in the past three games.

She is the only player be voted Ohio's player-of-the-year three times other than LeBron James.

The Canton, Ohio-native has also been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times, the second-most in OSU history behind former standout Kelsey Mitchell’s six such designations in 2014-2015. 

Bell has earned those accolades by scoring 259 points so far this season, second only to sophomore Dorka Juhász, who has 282.

Bell is averaging 11.3 points a game in just 20.9 minutes per game. She is shooting 41 percent from the field and 31 percent from deep.

Against Big Ten opponents. it seems Bell steps into her own. She is the team’s leading scorer in conference play at 12.3 points per game.

Juhász’s dominating season has no end in sight. She leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 12.8 points per game and 8.5 rebounds. She has started every game this season and has played a team-high 659 minutes.

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