Jacy Sheldon scores 25, Cotie McMahon adds 20, No. 8 Ohio State outlasts No. 10 Indiana 74-69

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jacy Sheldon scored 25 points, Cotie McMahon had 20 points and seven rebounds and No. 8 Ohio State used a second-half surge to upend No. 10 Indiana 74-69 on Sunday for its ninth consecutive win.

The Buckeyes (19-3, 10-1) took off in the third quarter, going on a 16-5 run to finish the frame up by eight points. They led by as many as 14 with 7:32 left in the game.

But a three-minute scoring drought by Ohio State allowed Indiana (18-3, 9-2) to cut the deficit to eight until a 3-pointer from Taylor Thierry at the 3:03 mark put the Buckeyes back on top by 11.

The Hoosiers stayed right in it. Two late 3-pointers by Yarden Garzon kept them in the game, her second one cutting Ohio State's lead to 70-66 with 28 seconds remaining.

Indiana had to start fouling, and free throws by Sheldon and Thierry sealed the win.

Sheldon said there was never any panic by the Buckeyes.

“We've been in that position a lot,” the fifth-year guard said. “We've been down in a lot of games. We've been up and had to keep the lead. So experience is huge. We have a lot of older girls, but we have a lot of younger girls who haven't been there before, and that's something we just emphasize a lot — keeping our cool both physically and mentally.”

Sara Scalia led Indiana with 25 points, and Mackenzie Holmes and Garzon each had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Indiana finished off the first half with a 7-0 run — including five from Chloe Moore-McNeil — to go up 37-32 at halftime. Ohio State didn't play well up until then, getting outscored in the paint 24-12 and outrebounded 23-14.

“The first four minutes (of the second half) just got away from us, and I thought we lost all momentum,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “They regained it, and then we were kind of playing catch-up for the remainder of the game.”

BIG PICTURE

Indiana: Outshot Ohio State 46.3% to 45% percent in a close game that was within reach until the end.

“Twenty-one points off our (23) turnovers — that's the game right there,” Moren said. "We can dissect it any way you want, but that's the game — 21 points off our turnovers.

Ohio State: Sheldon and McMahon were again terrific in leading the Buckeyes, although McMahon fouled out with 3:10 left. She also had five assists. The Buckeyes' winning streak includes a 100-92 overtime victory over then-No. 2 Iowa on Jan. 21. McMahon had 33 points and 12 rebounds and Sheldon had 24 points and seven rebounds in that game.

UP NEXT

Indiana: Hosts Michigan State on Thursday.

Ohio State: At Minnesota on Tuesday.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball