Ohio State ends IU’s undefeated streak

More than 4,000 fans filed into Assembly Hall Saturday hoping to see their No. 22 Hoosiers extend a program-best 14-game win streak.
 
Ohio State sent them home disappointed.

Their hopes appeared to have been dashed before the halftime whistle, as IU fell behind by as many as 15 points in the first half. A 12-2 run from the Buckeyes less than seven minutes into the game stretched the lead to 11.

The Hoosiers were reeling.

“I thought it was a little bit quicksand in the first half when we started missing some shots,” IU Coach Curt Miller said.

After the halftime break, IU matched Ohio State step-for-step, unable to trim the deficit by much. A steal by senior forward Tabitha Gerardot with eight minutes and 23 seconds freed Larryn Brooks behind the three-point line.

The freshman guard buried her three-point attempt. The sequence was the cap on a Hoosier comeback that slashed Ohio State’s lead to eight.

It was the closest the Hoosiers would get to the Buckeyes for the remainder of the game.

Ohio State junior guard Raven Ferguson responded with back-to-back layups and sparked a 10-0 run for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes (12-7, 2-1 conference) defeated IU (14-1, 1-1 conference) 70-51, handing the Hoosiers their first loss of the season and ending the best start to a season in program history.

“Tough game for us tonight but a lot of credit to Ohio State on why it was difficult,” Miller said. “I thought their defense was terrific against us.”

The Buckeyes forced 15 turnovers and held the Hoosiers to 28.8 percent (17-of-59) shooting for the game, including 19 percent (6-of-32) shooting in the second half.

“We had a lot of good shots in the second half and we just didn’t make them,” senior forward Tabitha Gerardot said.

On the other end of the court, the Buckeyes’ shooting percentage prevented the Hoosier comeback from materializing.

Ohio State sophomore guard Ameryst Alston led all scorers with 29 points on 61.9 percent (13-of-21) shooting from the field.

Ohio State Coach Kevin McGuff said Alston was in attack mode the entire game.

“We’re a different team when she is playing with that type of aggressiveness,” McGuff said.

The Hoosiers shot better as a team in the first half at 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field, 33 percent (1-of-3) from 3-point range.

The Buckeyes shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field in the first half but were held to 45 percent (15-of-29) in the second half.

Despite their second half struggles, the Buckeyes finished at 53.4 percent (31-58) from the field as a team.

With 13 minutes and 32 seconds remaining in the first half, Ohio State went on its 12-2 run to take a 20-10 lead. Freshman guard Taylor Agler hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to seven.

Ferguson responded with a 3-pointer of her own to extend the lead back to 10 for Ohio State.

Her three-pointer was part of five-minute stretch in which Ohio State shot 62.5 percent (5-of-8) as a team.

After falling behind early, the Hoosiers edged the Buckeyes on an 11-10 run in the final five minutes to cut Ohio State’s lead to 39-29 at the half.

When the deficit was cut to eight points in the second half, Miller said he looked out onto the court and saw four freshmen and a first-year transfer player when the team made the run.

“We had five newcomers on the floor when we did make a run back at them, and that bodes well for the future,” he said.

Miller said he thought the team was a little tentative.

“I’m not sure if that’s the long layoff of 9-10 days in between games, or we were just a little tentative from the start and on our heels,” he said. “But a lot of credit, again, to Ohio State.”

Follow reporter Stuart Jackson on Twitter @StuartJackson1