COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 2/2 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-1, 8-1 B1G) fell to No. 10/9 Iowa (16-4, 8-1 B1G) on Monday evening by an 83-72 mark in OSU’s first loss of the season in front of a sold-out women’s basketball crowd in Value City Arena.

The first quarter was back-and-forth with neither team scoring more than two-consecutive baskets and Taylor Mikesell triple giving the Buckeyes a 24-23 lead after 10 minutes. Iowa used a run in the second quarter to take a 43-34 lead into the locker room after a last-second shot. Ohio State scored the final 10 points of the third quarter to trim the deficit to 56-54 heading into the fourth quarter.

Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry led the Ohio State offense with 21 and 20 points, respectively. They also led on the boards as McMahon had eight rebounds and Thierry had nine rebounds. Taylor Mikesell reached double figures in the fourth quarter, finishing with 12 points.

How it Happened

Ohio State scored the first two baskets of the game and a three-point play from Cotie McMahon gave OSU a 7-3 lead just over two minutes into play. Iowa took its first lead of the game with the next five points and led 12-11 at the media timeout. The Hawkeyes led by four at 18-14 and 23-19, but the Buckeyes scored the final five of the quarter, including a last-second Taylor Mikesell three-pointer, to lead 24-23 after 10 minutes of play.

After the Buckeyes opened the quarter with a layup, Iowa scored the next nine points to force an OSU timeout down 32-26 with 7:19 to play in the quarter. Ohio State’s defense held Iowa without points for more than three minutes to cut the deficit to 39-34 with just over a minute to play. A buzzer-beating Iowa shot put the Hawkeyes up 43-34 going into the locker room.

McMahon began the second half with a three-point play before the teams traded points with Taylor Thierry scoring the next seven points for Ohio State. The Buckeyes called timeout trailing 56-44 with 5:52 to play in the quarter. OSU scored the final 10 points of the quarter to get within two at 56-54 heading into the final quarter.

Iowa scored eight of the first 11 points in the fourth quarter to build a 64-57 lead with 7:46 left to play, forcing an Ohio State timeout. Rikki Harris cut the deficit to 64-60 with a three-pointer, but Iowa went on an 11-2 run to lead 75-62 with 3:11 to play. OSU scored the next five, including a three-point play from Thierry. Iowa wrapped up the game with free throws.

Game Notes

• Ohio State’s 19-game win streak wraps up as the third-longest in program history.
• This is the 14^th time this season Ohio State has had at least 10 steals.
• Cotie McMahon was the first Buckeye to reach double figures, doing so for the 12^th time this season. McMahon finished with 21 points, surpassing the 20-point plateau for the seventh time this season.
• Taylor Thierry reached double figures to start the third quarter, scoring 10+ points for the 14^th time this season. This is her third 20-point game of the season.
• Taylor Mikesell recorded double figures for the 19^th time this season and finished with 12 points.
• Eboni Walker had a career-high five steals.

What They Said

• Head Coach Kevin McGuff: “I think this can be [a learning experience]. One of things I told the team was that outside of tonight, I think for the most part we’ve handled winning fine. It will show a lot about our competitive character in the coming days in how we practice and how we show up on Thursday to play. It’s not going to be any easier.”
• Sophomore guard/forward Taylor Thierry: “This game there were moments where we did not play our hardest but there were also moments that we did play our hardest and it showed a little bit but we have to be consistent with that and try to not get high and low. We need to make sure that we’re focusing on what we need to focus on and just playing our hardest game.”
• Freshman forward Cotie McMahon: “The moments where we had success, carry that on to the next game. The moments where we messed up, just buckle down in practice and fix it and then move on and carry that over to Indiana.”

COURTESY OSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS