Ameryst Alston scored 20 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to lead Ohio State’s second half charge in a 100-82 upset of No. 11 Iowa Saturday night at Value City Arena.
Alston was one of three Buckeyes (19-9, 11-5) to record a double-double on the night. After tying her season-high with eight assists last game, Alston had a career-high 11 helpers on Saturday. She was also efficient when she shot the ball, going 10-of-16 from the floor, including a career-high tying 5-of-6 from long range.
Freshman Alexa Hart notched her team-leading ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She also blocked four shots, giving her 103 on the season.
Sophomore Shayla Cooper came off the bench and posted her third double-double in the last five games. She scored 14 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished-out two assists.
Freshman Kelsey Mitchell drew most of the Iowa defenders’ attention and only took a season-low nine shots. But she was 3-of-6 from deep and 4-of-4 from the line for 17 points to go along with a pair of assists.
Trailing 48-45 at the break, the Buckeyes picked-up on the defensive end in the second half which lead to success in transition. Ohio State outscored Iowa 55-34 in the second half and held the Hawkeyes to just 31 percent from the floor after they shot over 51 percent in the first half. The 55 points were the second-most for the Buckeyes in a half this season.
Iowa was led offensively by Samantha Logic who finished with 23 points and six assists. But like the rest of her team, Logic struggled to find the mark in the second half as she scored just six points and was 2-of-5 from the floor.
The Hawkeyes had a better start from the jump and took as much as an eight-point lead at 25-17. The Buckeyes responded with a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the night. Cait Craft knocked-down two of her three three-pointers and Lisa Blair had a couple of lay-in during the spurt. The rest of the half was a close back-and-forth battle which led to a three-point edge for Iowa.
The margin stayed within one possession until a Mitchell three-pointer sparked a 24-6 Ohio State run that put the Buckeyes in front 77-60 with nine minutes to play. The run spanned six and half minutes and featured points by five different Buckeyes. Ohio State was 9-of-15 from the floor during the game-changing run while Iowa missed nine of its 12 shots and had three turnovers.
The rest of the half was a Buckeye show for the home fans that braved the snowy conditions for the home finale. Alston’s final bucket was a nifty driving floater that gave the Buckeyes its largest lead of the game at 100-77.
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