Ohio State got 21 points from freshman Kelsey Mitchell and a double-double from fellow freshman Alexa Hart to outlast Penn State 69-60 on Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Buckeyes who improve to 12-7 on the year and 4-3 in the B1G.
One game after hitting a school-record nine three-pointers, Mitchell connected on five more from long range on Sunday to finish with a game-high 21 points. This was her 15th game of 20 or more points this season.
Hart grabbed 15 rebounds on the afternoon, including nine on the offensive end. She scored 11 points for her fifth double-double and also swatted three shots.
Junior Ameryst Alston was the third Buckeye in double-figures with 18 points.
Penn State (3-15, 0-7 B1G) also had three players in double-figures led by Sierra Moore with 16 points. Candice Agee recorded a double-double with 11 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds.
The Buckeyes shot under 40 percent for the second-straight game (35.8 percent) but they won the rebounding battle and made the most of PSU’s 17 turnovers, converting them into 17 points.
Both teams got off to somewhat of a sluggish start in the opening half but the Buckeyes found their groove and used a 7-0 run to take a 31-24 lead. Mitchell scored the first five points in the run.
The Nittany Lions cut the lead back to two but a Cait Craft three-pointer from the corner sent the Buckeyes to the locker room with a 36-30 edge.
Ohio State shoved the lead out to 16 points early in the second half on a pair of three-pointers from Mitchell and one from Asia Doss. Penn State wouldn’t go quietly however as they cut the margin to just six at 57-51 with 6:30 to play. A Hart free throw pushed the lead to seven and Alston had a key 6-2 run of her own to give the Buckeyes an 11-point advantage with less than four minutes remaining. OSU would then hold on down the stretch for its second-straight victory over Penn State.
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