By Danielle Daniels
2024 NCAA Tournament – First Round
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Venue: Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center (Columbus, Ohio)
Game:
- NCAA First Round (Friday vs. #15 Maine at 12 p.m. ET) | Live Stats | ESPN
Rosters: Ohio State | Maine
Notes:Ohio State | Maine
NCAA Tournament:Bracket
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 7/9 and #2 seed Ohio State women’s basketball team (25-5, 16-2 B1G) hosts #15 Maine (24-9, 14-2 America East) on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament inside the Schottenstein Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and AM1460 with tip-off scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.
- Ohio State lost by an 82-61 margin to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 8.
- The Buckeyes had four double-figure scorers – Rebeka Mikulášiková (16), Taylor Thierry (13), Cotie McMahon (12) and Jacy Sheldon (10). McMahon led OSU with nine rebounds and Celeste Taylor led the team in assists (6) and steals (5), but shot 36 percent from the floor.
- Ohio State earned a #2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, hosting games for the second-straight season and the 14th time overall. This is OSU’s 15th time as a top-four seed and first time as a #2 seed since the 2010 tournament.
- This is the Buckeyes’ 28th NCAA Tournament appearance as Ohio State is 31-27 in the big dance.
- Maine holds a 24-9 overall record and finished the conference season 14-2 in the America East. The Black Bears are riding a six-game win streak.
- Maine won the America East Tournament Championship for the 10th time in program history by beating third-seeded Vermont by a 64-48 margin in the title game. The Black Bears beat fifth-seeded Binghamton 64-58 in the semifinals and eighth-seeded UMass-Lowell 49-43 in the quarterfinals.
- Maine is led by a two-headed monster in Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith. Simon averages a team-high 18.8 points and 2.5 steals per game and is also averaging 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Smith leads the team with 10.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 0.8 blocks per game and is averaging 16.6 points and 1.5 steals per game.
- Simon was named America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Amy Vachon was named America East Coach of the Year.
- Ohio State leads 1-0 in the all-time series with Maine. The most recent meeting between the teams occurred on Dec. 3, 2017 in Columbus but the Buckeye win was later vacated by the NCAA.
- The Buckeyes and Black Bears first met on Nov. 17, 1995 in Columbus in the preseason WNIT. Ohio State earned a 93-64 victory.
Tickets for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, hosted at the Schottenstein Center, are now on sale and can be purchased online HERE.
Season tickets for the 2024-25 season are now on sale and can be purchased HERE. Contact the ticket office with any questions at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2) or [email protected].
