Brice Sensabaugh led the Buckeyes with 22 points and Justice Sueing added 21, but they were the only Ohio State players in double figures. Maryland had five, even with Young handing so much of the scoring.
Maryland led 60-46 after Julian Reese scored inside for the Terps, but Reese was given a technical foul following some post-basket chatter, and Ohio State responded with a 13-2 run.
It was tight after that, but the Terps had enough answers offensively down the stretch. Down six in the final minute, Sueing missed an open 3-pointer from the left corner, and that was pretty much it for the Buckeyes’ comeback chances.
Maryland finished with 14 offensive rebounds and outscored Ohio State 34-22 in the paint.
BIG PICTURE
Ohio State: The Buckeyes came into the game averaging 80.1 points and a plus-7.9 margin on the boards. That formula didn’t come together in this one. Ohio State was outrebounded 40-26 in one of the most surprising stats of the day.
Maryland: The Terps had lost five of seven since starting 8-0 under new coach Kevin Willard, but this was a strong performance against one of the league’s better teams.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
A two-point loss to top-ranked Purdue earlier in the week may not have been enough to knock Ohio State out of the Top 25, but this defeat probably will.
No. 3 Ohio State (women) 87, Illinois 81: Taylor Mikesell scored a game-high 31 points as No. 3 Ohio State erased a halftime deficit and avoided an upset with an 87-81 over Illinois Sunday.
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, a 13-0 run in the third quarter helped the Buckeyes (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) tie the game at 58 with 2:16 to go in the period.
Entering the fourth quarter tied at 65, Rikki Harris made a 3-pointer and Ohio State didn’t trail again.
The Buckeyes shot 42.9% in the fourth quarter while the Fighting Illini (14-3, 4-2) went 1 of 7 from beyond the arc in that span.
Mikesell shot 50% from the field and Centerville’s Cotie McMahon added 22 points for Ohio State. Taylor Thierry had 12 points and swiped four steals.
Both teams matched one another in the first quarter. Illinois, led by former Dayton coach Shauna Green, began 10 of 21 from the field and Genesis Bryant scored 10 points while the Buckeyes went 8 of 8 at the free throw line but shot 31.3%.
Knotted at 22 points after the opening frame, the Fighting Illini raced ahead on a 10-2 run and outscored Ohio State 25-15 in the second quarter. Illinois led 47-37 at halftime.
Kendall Bostic notched her sixth double-double of the season behind 27 points and 15 rebounds. Bryant finished with 20 points. Former UD players Makira Cook had 12 and Brynn Shoup-Hill tallied 10 for Illinois.
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