Six different Buckeyes finished with 10 or more points as the 10th-ranked Buckeyes ran past a pesky Cincinnati team in the second half for a 105-76 victory Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena.
Shayla Cooper was 9-of-11 from the floor and scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Buckeyes who shot over 57 percent in the second half.
Cincinnati stayed in the game thanks to 11 three-point field goals as well as a career-effort from Ana Owens who finished with a game-high 35 points.
Ohio State used a balanced attack on Sunday as a season-high six players finished with 10 or more points led by Cooper’s 18. Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston finished with 16 points which Alexa Hart chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds. Senior Cait Craft notched 11 points and redshirt-freshman Makayla Waterman posted a season-high 11 points and six rebounds.
Alston dished-out a season-high nine assists in the game while Craft finished with five helpers. Between the two Buckeye seniors, they had a 14-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio for the game.
Bearcat Ana Owens made five three-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points. Jasmine Whitfield added 18 points and Bianca Quisenberry posted the games only double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Cincinnati was able to hang around for most of the game thanks to its rebounding on the offensive end and its three-point shooting. The Bearcats made 11 three-pointers and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds. UC managed just 20 defensive rebounds.
But the Buckeyes were able to pull away in the second half with easy buckets in transition. Ohio State was 19-of-35 (57.5 percent) from the floor in the second half and assisted on 10 of the 19 field goals.
The Buckeyes came out of the gate a little slow before finding their footing late in the first quarter. A couple of runs gave the Buckeyes as much as a nine-point advantage in the second quarter but seven three-pointers and 11 offensive rebounds kept UC within striking distance at halftime. Ohio State led 45-38 at the break.
A 20-10 Buckeye run coming out of the break pushed the lead out to a comfortable 67-48 margin. UC cut the deficit to 70-58 but an 8-0 run but the Buckeyes to end the quarter gave OSU a 20-point edge headed to the fourth.
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