WBB: No. 15 Ohio State Buckeyes' Defense Suffocates Cornell Big Red in 83-40 Blowout

The Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Cornell Big Red behind a big defensive outing.

Ohio State had yet another demolishing victory Sunday.

The Buckeyes (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten) defeated the Cornell Big Red (2-4, 0-0 Ivy League) 83-40 at Value City Arena behind a stellar defensive showing from Ohio State's backcourt.

Ohio State came out firing right off the bat, going up 22-11 after the first quarter. However, the real lockdown defense showed up in the second, when the Buckeyes limited the Big Red to just two points in 10 minutes.

Graduate guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor and junior Taylor Thierry led an unstoppable defensive backcourt, forcing 17 first-half turnovers. In addition, out of the 33 points off turnovers, 22 of those came in the first half.

The Buckeyes limited the Big Red to just 1-12 on shooting in the second quarter. Despite Ohio State's great defense, they were unable to turn turnovers into transition offense, but rather went down the floor, slowed things down and moved the ball until they found the open man — which most of the time ended up being graduate center Rebeka Mikulasikova down low.

Mikulasikova and graduate center Taiyier Parks absolutely bullied Cornell down low, combining for 20 points on 56-percent shooting. Parks added eight rebounds and a block off the bench. The Buckeyes overall had six more points in the paint than the Big Red's total points all game.

Besides the defense, Ohio State's win was highlighted by the great ball movement. On countless possessions, the Buckeyes would make sure everyone touched the ball before taking a shot, and it usually ended up being a wide-open Mikulasikova or a cutter in the paint. Taylor led the Buckeyes as the primary facilitator with seven assists, adding to a season-high 24 assists for the team.

The Buckeyes take a week-long break before a top-20 showdown against No. 19 Tennessee (4-2, 0-0 SEC) in Knoxville on Dec. 3.