INDIANAPOLIS −No. 3 seed Ohio State advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament with a 60-59 victory over No. 9 Iowa on Friday.
It was a close matchup for the entire 40 minutes, finishing with eight lead changes, and Ohio State was in control 58-56 as the clock ran past 2 minutes remaining.
A 3-point basket from Sydney Affolter with 1:18 remaining swung the game back in Iowa’s favor 59-58.
Ohio State was able to regain the lead one final time when Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke fouled Cotie McMahon with 6.7 seconds remaining. McMahon hit both free throws, securing the Buckeyes‘ victory and a team-leading 18 points.
Iowa had the last possession of the game, in-bounding the ball with less than a second on the clock. With the ball sent to Stuelke, the Hawkeyes junior missed a jumper from the corner.
It was McMahon who got the Buckeyes going, hitting back-to-back 3-point baskets to open Ohio State’s shooting in the first quarter. From the field, McMahon shot 46.1%, but she struggled at the free throw line, failing to hit two consecutive free throws until her final set.
Taylor Thierry became a key contributor for Ohio State after being held scoreless in the first half, finishing with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
The Buckeyes edged out the Hawkeyes on the boards 38-37.
Entering the third quarter, Ohio State held a 29-28 lead, but Iowa strung together a 9-2 run to pull out ahead 37-33 advantage.
With the Buckeyes falling behind, coach Kevin McGuff put Kennedy Cambridge and Eboni Walker into the lineup.
The two bench players gave Ohio State the boost it needed to finish the third quarter tied 48-48 and were the only Buckeyes outside of McMahon and Thierry to score in the second half. Cambridge and Walker combined for 10 points in the second.
The Buckeyes will face No. 2 UCLA in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. UCLA defeated No. 10 Nebraska 85-74 in the quarterfinals, and recorded a 65-52 victory over Ohio State in the regular season.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State tops Iowa in quarterfinals of Big Ten basketball tournament
