Big Ten Tournament Championship Game Preview: Maryland vs Ohio State
By Ben Rosof
The Terps hope to avenge their 2018 loss to the Buckeyes.
The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Championship game (6 p.m., ESPN2) will feature the top-seeded Maryland Terrapins squaring off against the sixth-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.
The matchup features a rematch of the 2018 tournament title game, when the No. 1 Buckeyes defeated the No. 2 Terrapins, 79-69. Former Buckeye Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points and earned Most Outstanding Player honors.
The Terps won both 2019-20 regular-season meetings between these two teams, 72-62 on January 6 in College Park and 85-65 on January 30 in Columbus.
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For Maryland, this is a sixth straight appearance in the championship game and they’ve reached the tournament’s final round in every season since joining the Big Ten conference. They are seeking their first title in the event since 2017, having lost to Iowa in the championship game a season ago after losing to the Buckeyes in 2018.
To get to this point, the Terps defeated the No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers on Friday night, 74-62, and the fourth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, 66-51. They’ve won 16 straight overall and sit at 27-4 overall and 16-2 in the conference entering the championship game as they seek to improve their NCAA tournament seeding.
On Friday, the Terps shot just 36% from the field and received just four points from leading scorer Kaila Charles, though they did collect 21 offensive rebounds in the first half. Sophomore Taylor Mikesell poured in six threes and 22 points overall while three other starters contributed at least 12.
On Saturday, Maryland starters combined to score just 35 points, but the Terrapin defense limited Indiana to just 33% shooting. Though Mikesell struggled against the Hoosiers, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field and converting on just one of her seven three-point attempts, freshmen duo Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller combined for 29 points off the bench.
Ohio State has an opportunity to claim their second tournament title in three years. To reach the championship game, the Buckeyes routed the 11th-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday, upset the No. 3 seed Iowa Hawkeyes in the quarterfinals on Friday and snuck past the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines in the semifinals on Saturday.
The Buckeyes’ success in the tournament has largely stemmed from their balanced scoring, as they saw four players reach double figures against Minnesota, five against Iowa and five against Michigan.
On Thursday, Ohio State used a 14-0 fourth quarter run to stretch a 54-50 lead into a 68-50 lead and essentially seal the deal. Sophomore Aaliyah Patty and freshman Jacy Sheldon both led the Buckeyes with 15 points while sophomore Dorka Juhasz grabbed 16 rebounds.
On Friday, the Buckeyes jumped on the Hawkeyes from the opening tip, outscoring Iowa 29-14 after the first quarter. Ohio State connected on 11 of its 27 three-point attempts, four of which came from freshman Kierstan Bell.
On Saturday, freshman Madison Greene scored a layup with 35 seconds remaining to put the Buckeyes ahead by two possessions over the Wolverines and carry them to victory. Greene led the team with 13 points on the night.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Sharika Austin vs Dorka Juhasz
Both of these players can score – Juhasz tops the Buckeyes on the season with 13 points per game while Austin is second on the Maryland roster with 12.1. However, what makes this matchup an intriguing one is the size that both of these sophomores possess. Austin is the tallest player on the Maryland roster at 6-foot-5, while Juhasz – 6-foot-4 – is the Big Ten’s second leading rebounder at 9.6 per game.
One major difference between the two is perimeter shooting. While Juhasz is second on the Buckeyes in three-point percentage, at 38% on the season, Austin missed her only attempt of the year.
Despite this distinction, watch for these two to battle inside the paint and out with a conference tournament championship on the line tomorrow night.
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