Ohio State saved its best for the final minute. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Minnesota saved its luck for the final seconds.
After Raven Ferguson hit her second 3-pointer within :08 seconds left to give OSU a 56-55 lead, Minnesota’s Rachel Banham raced the other way and hit a runner with 0.4 seconds left to give Minnesota the one-point victory, 57-56.
Trailing by five, 55-50, with just over a minute left, Ferguson cut the lead to two with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. After a timeout, Ferguson came up with a steal on the inbounds and hit a second 3-pointer from the corner to give Ohio State the one-point lead before Banaham hit the game winner.
The loss drops the Buckeyes to 4-9 in the Big Ten and 14-12 overall while Minnesota improves to 16-11 and 5-8.
Ohio State trailed by as much as eight points with 7 minutes left before they mounted a rally. But it didn’t come easy as Ohio State shot just 31 percent for the game. But the Buckeyes stayed in the game with their defense, holding their opponent in the 50’s for the fifth straight game.
Tayler Hill, who hit a school-record 14 of 14 from the free throw line, finished with a game-high 25 points while Ferguson and Amber Stokes each scored 10. Ferguson also added seven rebounds.
The 25 points from Hill also moved her into a tie for fifth place with Tracey Hall on Ohio State’s all-time scoring list (1,912).
Banham and Micaella Riche led Minnesota with 17 points each to lead the Gophers, who led by as much a nine.
Ohio State will try and bounce back at 6:30 p.m. Monday when it welcomes Michigan State to Value City Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear their Scarlet.
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