Ohio State players celebrate with then-freshman guard Janai Crooms (3) for her and-one basket in the second half of the game against Rutgers on March 3. Ohio State lost 66-56. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Managing Editor for Multimedia
It took until the final seconds of overtime for Ohio State to finish off Cincinnati, but the Buckeyes prevailed on the road Wednesday.
Ohio State (2-0) defeated Cincinnati (1-2) 78-73 after the Bearcats battled back from a 10-point second half deficit to force the extra period.
Junior guard Braxtin Miller led the way with 18 points, but four Buckeyes finished in double figures. Sophomore guard Janai Crooms recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists, adding three steals and three blocks on defense.
Cincinnati countered with senior guard Antoinette Miller and junior forward Iimar’i Thomas, who had 20 and 25 points respectively.
After six lead changes and two ties in the opening 3:11 of overtime, sophomore forward Dorka Juhasz pulled in an offensive rebound and stuck it back with 1:19 to play. After a Cincinnati missed shot, Braxtin Miller engineered a fast-break layup for freshman guard Jacy Sheldon, giving Ohio State a 75-71 edge.
The lead was sliced back to two, but Crooms made a trio of free throws to end Cincinnati’s hopes.
The Buckeyes were up 10 early in the third quarter after grabbing pulling off a six-point comeback in the second, but the Bearcats pulled within five at 47-42 within under five minutes to play in the third period.
After that the Ohio State lead swung between one and six points for 15:07 of gametime before Antoinette Miller evened the game on a layup with 16 seconds to play in regulation.
Ohio State’s season continues Nov. 17 against Ohio University in the Schottenstein Center.
