Ohio State snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Thursday, working two overtimes to defeat Wisconsin, 65-59, at Value City Arena.
Trailing by four points with 11 seconds left (and with some fans heading for the exits), Tayler Hill was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds left. After making the first two, Hill intentionally missed the third free throw and Amber Stokes tipped the ball under the basket to Ameryst Alston who quickly flipped the ball over her shoulder and through the net as time expired. It was Alston’s first basket of the game.
But that was only just the beginning of the drama. With 1:32 left in the first overtime and down two, Stokes drove baseline and converted a layup to tie the game for the 14th time. After a Wisconsin miss on its next possession, Hill had a chance to win the game but missed a layup, which forced another overtime session.
This time Ohio State (13-10, 3-7) eliminated the drama early, outscoring the Badgers 7-1 in the second overtime to win its second in a row and keep its postseason hopes alive.
Ashley Adams led Ohio State with 16 points and nine rebounds while Hill and Stokes each added 15. Aleksandra Dobranic also hit key shots for the Buckeyes in critical moments and finished with nine.
Wisconsin, who is the only team in the Big Ten to defeat conference-leader Penn State, was led by Jacki Gulczynski’s 32 points, which were two shy of the opponent record at Value City Arena (34).
The Buckeyes came out looking to avenge a previous loss in Madison and did so with defense. They forced 18 Wisconsin (10-13, 2-8) turnovers and turned them into 19 points at the other end, finishing 19-4 in OSU’s favor in points off turnovers.
The game ultimately featured 14 ties and 10 lead changes.
Ohio State led 26-24 at the break behind some stingy defense and balanced scoring, seven coming from Hill before going to the bench with two fouls. Ohio State held Wisconsin to 26 percent shooting and forced six turnovers in the first 15 minutes.
The Buckeyes will look to make it three in a row this weekend when they travel to take on Northwestern Sunday in Evanston. Game time is 4 p.m. ET on BTN.
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