Ohio State guard Carmen Grande (1) dribbles the ball up the court in the second half of the game against Indiana on Jan. 10. Ohio State won 55-50. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor
The Ohio State women’s basketball team (14-12, 10-7 Big Ten) continued its hot streak, winning 10 of its past 14 games, with a 61-50 win against Wisconsin(13-16, 4-13).
Thursday’s game saw four players score 10 points or more, with redshirt senior guard Carmen Grande leading the way for Ohio State. Her 17 points along with three rebounds and five assists were key in giving the Buckeyes a substantial lead for most of the game.
Also getting in on the action were freshman guard Janai Crooms, redshirt senior guard Carly Santoro and freshman forward Dorka Juhasz, who combined for 32 of the team’s 61 points.
Crooms was hot early on helping the Buckeyes get off to an early lead in the first quarter. She was 4-of-8 from the field for 11 points to go with six rebounds.
Moving into the second quarter, Santoro and Juhasz stepped up to take control of the game and get a 13-point lead heading into halftime. Santoro scored 11 points with two rebounds and two assists.
Juhasz had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds to contribute not only on the offensive side, but also being a key figure on the defensive side as well.
Wisconsin could never quite get it going on the offensive side early on, but senior forward Marsha Howard kept the Badgers in the game with a 15-point performance along with seven rebounds and two assists.
The second half was a bit of different story, as a 10-point Wisconsin run in the third quarter cut an 18-point Ohio State lead back down to a single-digit game.
However, the Buckeyes countered with a nine-point run of their own to take a firm hold of the game again. Despite a nine-point run by Wisconsin in the fourth quarter, Ohio State burned enough clock to limit Wisconsin’s options.
The Badgers were forced to foul to stay in the game, and the Buckeyes made enough free throws to get away with the win.
The Buckeyes will close out the regular season with a rematch against Rutgers on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center.
