By Danielle Daniels
1 19 2025
Box Score | Season Stats | Photo Gallery
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 9/8 Ohio State women’s basketball team (17-1, 6-1 B1G) fell Penn State (10-9, 1-7 B1G) on Sunday afternoon on the road by a 62-59 margin in the Buckeyes’ first loss of the season.
Ohio State got off to a quick start and led by an 18-10 margin after one quarter of play. The Buckeyes’ offense slowed in the second quarter and the Nittany Lions took a 30-27 into halftime. OSU stormed back to take a seven-point lead in the third quarter but PSU answered and the game was tied at 51 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was a low scoring quarter for both teams as the game’s scoring was capped at 62-59 on free throws.
Cotie McMahon was the first Buckeye in double figures and finished with 19 points. Chance Gray also scored in double figures with 18 points. McMahon (6) and Taylor Thierry (4) both had a season-high in assists.
How it Happened
McMahon opened the game’s scoring with a three-pointer and the Buckeyes put together an 8-0 run to jump out to an early 11-2 lead with 6:24 remaining in the opening quarter, forcing a Penn State timeout. Gray hit a second three-pointer out of the timeout to extend OSU’s lead to 14-2. The Buckeyes held the 18-10 advantage after 10 minutes.
Penn State scored first in the second quarter and trimmed its deficit to one at 18-17 with the quarter’s first seven points, prompting an Ohio State timeout. The Buckeyes broke their scoring drought with a triple from Ava Watson out of the timeout and Ajae Petty followed with a layup. The Nittany Lions took their first lead of the game at 26-25 with 2:21 to play in the first half. Penn State led by a 30-27 margin at halftime.
Madison Greene found Thierry under the basket to quickly start the third quarter. Ohio State took the lead back amidst a 10-0 run that saw the Buckeyes up by a 42-35 margin following a three-pointer from Thierry with just under six minutes to play in the third. Penn State used a 7-0 run to take the lead back at 45-44 with less than four minutes in the quarter. Gray’s third triple of the game gave OSU the lead back before PSU tied the game at 49. The game was tied at 51 after 30 minutes.
Penn State scored the first five points of the fourth quarter before Gray got Ohio State on the board and then tied the game at 56 with her fourth triple of the game. The Nittany Lions took the lead back as both teams entered a scoring drought. The Buckeyes called timeout with 1:39 to play trailing 60-57. McMahon made a pair of free throws to get OSU within one at 60-59 with 40 seconds remaining. Penn State got to the line and led 62-59, prompting an Ohio State timeout. That was the final score of the game as the Buckeyes couldn’t make their last shot.
Highlights
- Q1: McMahon three-pointer
- Q1: Gray three-pointer
- Q1: Gray three-pointer
- Q1: K. Cambridge fastbreak
- Q2: Watson three-pointer
- Q3: Greene to Thierry
- Q3: Greene three-pointer
- Q3: McMahon pull up
- Q3: Thierry three-pointer
- Q4: Gray three-pointer
Match Notes
- Prior to today’s game, Ohio State was one of only three unbeaten teams in the country.
- This is the 13th game of the season that the Buckeye defense has forced 20 or more turnovers. Penn State committed 21 turnovers today.
- This is also the 13th game of the season that Ohio State has totaled at least 10 steals as the Buckeyes finished with 12 steals today.
- Five different Buckeyes made a three-pointer in the game.
- Cotie McMahon was the first Buckeye to reach double figures and totaled 19 points. This is her 12th game of the season in double figures. McMahon added a season-high six assists.
- Chance Gray reached double figures for the 15th time this season with 18 points today. She made four three-pointers – her seventh game of the season with at least four made triples.
- Taylor Thierry tied her season-high three assists in the first half and finished with four assists.
- Elsa Lemmilä leads the Buckeyes with 31 blocks this season after one block today.
- Q1: Ohio State began the game shooting 4-of-6 (.667) from long range, while the Buckeye defense allowed only one Penn State basket in the first seven minutes.
- Q3: The Buckeyes made their first seven field goal attempts of the quarter, including a trio of three-pointers.
Up Next
Ohio State hosts No. 8/9 Maryland on Thursday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BTN and AM1460.
Ohio State women’s basketball tickets for the 2024-25 season are available online as Buckeye Nation continues to make Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center one of the most exciting venues in the country.
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