For over 30 minutes, it didn’t look like it was going to happen but Ohio State found its footing on both ends of the floor in crunch time to pull out a 77-73 comeback victory over Michigan Tuesday night inside Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes (17-8, 9-4) trailed by 13 points with nine minutes to play but a 12-0 run and some stellar defense down the stretch allowed OSU to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Wolverines.
For the second-straight game, the nation’s scoring leader Kelsey Mitchell struggled from the floor. But like all good players do, she found a way. Mitchell was 11-of-15 from the foul line and dished-out a team-high six assists to help will the Buckeyes to victory. She finished the game with 26 points with 19 of those coming in the second half.
Freshman Alexa Hart and sophomore Shayla Cooper also had good games for the Buckeyes as each recorded a double-double. Hart was a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor and finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. Cooper notched her second-straight double-double with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Junior Cait Craft was key tonight as well as she stepped-up and scored a pair of big buckets during the decisive run. Her three-pointer with 6:42 remaining brought the Buckeyes within a single possession and her rebound and put-back in traffic gave the Buckeyes the lead for good with just under 3:30 to play. Craft finished the game with 11 points for her second-straight game of 10 or more points.
Michigan (14-10, 6-7) got a double-double from Nicole Elmblad as she tallied 14 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Shannon Smith led the Wolverines with 18 points. Cyesha Goree, the team’s leading scorer, was marred by foul trouble most of the night but still finished with 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with five minutes to play.
Despite turning the ball over 16 times, the Wolverines had the game in hand with eight minutes remaining. But the Buckeyes stepped on the gas defensively which took Michigan out of its rhythm. UM was just 3-of-15 from the floor and had three turnovers in the final eight minutes of the game.
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