Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon named to Big Ten Women’s Basketball All-Tournament Team

Although the Ohio State Buckeyes received an earlier B1G Tournament exit than they hoped, one player didn’t leave Indianapolis empty-handed. On Sunday, after the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Indiana Hoosiers 74-67, the media voted junior guard Jacy Sheldon onto the All-Tournament Team.

Sheldon and the Buckeyes played two games in the tournament, beating the Michigan State Spartans on Friday. On Saturday, they fell to the Indiana Hoosiers. Against Michigan State, Sheldon scored 19 and assisted on four. Saturday, Sheldon scored 22, assisted 4 and added 4 rebounds.

In both games, Sheldon led the Buckeyes in points, and ran the Scarlet & Gray’s offense. Not only does Sheldon score at a high pace, averaging 19.5 a game in 2021/22, she also scores at key moments.

Against Michigan State, Sheldon broke up Spartan runs in the third and fourth quarters. The same in the fourth quarter against Indiana, where the Buckeyes cut the Hoosiers deficit to six with less than a minute to go. In Ohio State’s late push for a comeback, Sheldon scored nine of the Buckeyes 14 fourth quarter points, and assisted on another shot.

Even though the Buckeyes would rather have played in the championship game, it’s a deserving award for a player that’s led Ohio State all season. Sheldon adds this award to the team’s Co-Championship in the regular season and her unanimous First Team All-B1G selection.

Sheldon’s work in the tournament also made her the only player in the All-Tournament Team that didn’t make the final.

Alongside Sheldon in the tournament team are a pair from Iowa and Indiana. The tournament runners-up featured guards Grace Berger and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary. In the semifinal, it was Cardano-Hillary that posted up on Sheldon with defense that didn’t give Sheldon much room to maneuver or work.

From Iowa, forward Monika Czinano and Caitlin Clark. Czinano is often the outlet for sophomore guard Clark for all the attention the B1G Player of the Year brings. Against Indiana, Czinano had a double-double of 30 points and 10 assists.

Clark’s addition to the All-Tournament Team is no surprise. Against Indiana, Clark was somewhat subdued with 18 points and seven assists, but in the quarterfinals, Clark had a double-double of 19 points and 12 assists against Northwestern. The contender for Naismith Player of the Year followed that up with a semifinal against the Nebraska Cornhuskers featuring 41 points and nine assists.

Now that the B1G Tournament is complete, the contenders in the conference set their eyes on March Madness. ESPN announces the bracket for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m. Right now, ESPN’s bracketology lists the Buckeyes as a six seed, potentially playing in Knoxville, Tennessee for the first round of the tournament. The Buckeyes will know for sure in one week.