Ohio State had its 31-game home win streak snapped Sunday at the hands of Illinois with a 79-73 loss to the Fighting Illini in front of a season-high 4,516 fans at Value City Arena.
The game was a wild, back and forth affair that saw nine lead changes and seven ties.
Senior Tayler Hill once again led the Buckeyes with 30 points and had five 3-point field goals while Darryce Mooreplayed a great game off the bench with 17 points and six rebounds.
But the Buckeyes had trouble all afternoon with Illinois senior Karisma Penn, who scored a game-high 34 points and had 12 rebounds. She hit 9 of 13 from the field and 16 of 17 from the free throw line.
The Buckeyes had their chances in the final minutes to pull out the win, but could not keep Penn in check as she recorded 10 points and four rebounds in the final 3 minutes to hold off the Buckeye charge.
Hill hit her fifth 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining to pull the Buckeyes within three, 73-70. But out of a timeout, Penn grabbed her sixth offensive rebound and scored on a putback to push the lead back to five with 31 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Maleeka Kynardgave the Buckeyes life with 14 seconds left to cut it to 77-73, but that was as close as the Buckeyes would get the rest of the way.
Illinois made a living at the free throw line Sunday, hitting 30 of 34 from the line and had 16 second-chance points.
Ashley Adams was the third Buckeye in double-figures with 11 points while Raven Fergusonadded eight points and five rebounds.
In the first half, Ohio State trailed 20-12 in the early going, but answered with a 16-0 run to take a 28-20 lead with 3:59 left. The Buckeyes held Illinois without a field goal for nearly 7 minutes in the first half and led 35-31 at halftime.
The loss was the first in a Big Ten home opener under head coach Jim Foster. The Buckeyes also suffered another setback when senior guard Amber Stokeswent down with a left knee injury late in the first half, the extent of which will be known Monday.
The Buckeyes hit the road Thursday at Minnesota. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET.
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