Ohio State freshman guard Jacy Sheldon (4) dribbles the ball down the court during the game against Ohio University Nov. 17. Ohio State lost 68-74. Credit: Meghan Carroll | Lantern Reporter
The Buckeyes’ struggles to find consistency continued Thursday night.
Ohio State women’s basketball (10-7, 3-3 Big Ten) failed to get its third straight conference win in East Lansing, Michigan, falling to Michigan State (10-7, 3-3) 68-65.
Despite spotty first-half play, Michigan State sophomore guard Nia Clouden came alive in the second, dropping 16 points in the final two frames, including the game-winning and-one with 13 seconds remaining.
Clouden finished with 20 points on the night.
Despite a broken index finger on her shooting hand, Michigan State senior guard Taryn McCutcheon powered through the pain to drop nine points along with seven assists against Ohio State.
The Buckeye offense sputtered for long stretches in the second half. It was held without a field goal for seven minutes in the third quarter and didn’t score a basket for the final 2:42 of the game as Michigan State closed it out.
Sophomore forward Aaliyah Patty led the Buckeyes with 12 points to go with nine rebounds in the game.
Ohio State freshman guard Jacy Sheldon added 11 points — all of which came in the first half.
Ohio State freshman forward Rebeka Mikulasikova played a big role for the Buckeyes off the bench as she scored nine points in the second half to finish with 11 on the night.
Turnovers were an issue once again for the Buckeyes, as they gave it away 10 times in the second half and ended the game with 18 turnovers.
Ohio State returns home for a 2 p.m. tipoff Sunday against Illinois at the Schottenstein Center.
