In its best defensive effort of the season, the Ohio State women’s basketball team raced out to a big lead and then cruised to a 67-52 victory Thursday night over Arkansas State.
The win was the second-straight for the Buckeyes who now improve to 6-4 on the season. Ohio State held Arkansas State to just 32 percent shooting on the night, which was a season-low for a Buckeye opponent.
Offensively, junior Ameryst Alston and freshman Alexa Hart each finished with 20 points to lead the Buckeyes. Alston was 9-of-12 from the floor and also dished-out four assists. Hart notched her fourth double-double of the season as she also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven blocks.
Freshman Kelsey Mitchell didn’t have the best night shooting as she was just 3-of-12 from the floor and finished with 14 points. But, the Big Ten scoring leader made an impact in other ways as she dished-out a season-high tying six assists and also had three steals.
Aundrea Gamble was the only Red Wolf in double-figures, finishing with 16 points but was frustrated most of the night by the Buckeye defense and committed eight turnovers.
The Buckeyes were aggressive defensively right from the tip. The pressure forced Arkansas State into just 2-of-11 shooting and six turnovers to start the game. OSU took advantage and ran out to a 15-5 lead.
The Red Wolves cut the lead to 19-12 before Ohio State took full control with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes. That gave the hosts a 31-12 lead and they would take a 36-16 advantage into the break. The 16 points were a season-low for an OSU opponent in a half.
Alston led everyone in the first half with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. The Buckeyes forced 14 first half turnovers which led to 16 points.
Ohio State came out of the locker room and pushed the lead right out to 27 points in the first six minutes of the second half. That surge effectively removed any doubt in the outcome. Arkansas State did answer with a 10-0 run to climb back within 20 and the lead hovered around that mark for the majority of the second half. But the Red Wolves were never really able to threaten as the Buckeyes cruised to their second-straight victory.
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