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The Ohio State women’s basketball team could not overcome a slew of turnovers on Thursday night in Columbus, watching a second half comeback attempt fall short against No. 18 Miami, 94-89, in overtime in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup.
The comeback, after trailing for most of the game, was capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Sierra Calhoun to tie the game at 84 after 40 minutes of play. But Ohio State came up just short in the overtime period.
The Buckeyes have now lost two consecutive games, and sit at 5-3 overall. All three losses this season have come against ranked opponents.
Kelsey Mitchell scored a game-high 29 points and Shayla Cooper added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ohio State committed 17 turnovers and missed 12 free throws on the night.
The Hurricanes, who improved to 6-1 on the season, were paced by 23 points from Keyona Hayes.
The game began with a frenetic pace, and Miami jumped out to an early 17-12 lead. Ohio State jumped in front, though, thanks to a Hurricanes scoring drought the last 4:49 of the quarter in which they missed seven consecutive shots and turned the ball over four times.
The Buckeyes pressed ahead to a 22-17 lead after ten minutes despite going 0-for-6 from three-point range. Mitchell led the way with seven points, while Shayla Cooper added six of her own.
Miami came out in a full-court press defense to begin the second quarter, and it paid dividends. Ohio State turned the ball over nine times, which led to a 41-30 Hurricanes’ lead going into the locker room. The Buckeyes managed just two made field goals the entire period
Though she led all scorers in the half with 10 points, Mitchell shot just 2-for-11 from the field. Ohio State shot just 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) from the floor, and 1-for-13 (7.7 percent) from deep. Nigia Greene scored nine points off the bench to pace Miami, which had seven players score at least four points in the half.
The Buckeyes rebounded in the third quarter, shooting 78.6 percent in the ten minutes, and showing better patience and care with the ball. Mitchell scored 11 in the frame, and four out of five three-point attempts fell for the scarlet and gray.
Hayes and Emese Hof carried the Hurricanes’ offense in the third, but Ohio State used a 10-0 run to storm back and take the lead 56-55 with just over a minute remaining, and trailed just 60-59 heading to the final ten minutes.
Mitchell and Miami’s Jessica Thomas put on a show to start the final quarter, scoring five and six, respectively, in the first five minutes. The two sides traded hoops the rest of the way, and Calhoun’s triple as time expired caused Value City Arena to erupt.
Up next for the Buckeyes is a home game on Sunday afternoon against in-state opponent Cincinnati. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.