The Tigers were the victim of a bad shooting night tonight in the Second Round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament in Baton Rouge, as Ohio State knocked down 10 threes to move on to the Sweet Sixteen over LSU, 79-64.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game opened with a Khayla Pointer three-pointer 18 seconds into the contest to give the Tigers an early 3-0 advantage. Ohio State wasn’t able to respond until the 6:36 mark with a pair of free throws from Rikki Harris. Halfway through, LSU led 8-4 but the Buckeyes would go on an 11-0 run to end the opening frame with a 15-8 lead.
The opening minutes of the second quarter was more of a back and forth affair, with the Tigers outscoring the Buckeyes 12-11 in the first five minutes of the frame to cut the lead to 26-20. The back and forth would continue, with Kevin McGuff’s squad leading the legendary Kim Mulkey 34-26 at the intermission.
The shooting woes continued for the LSU Lady Tigers to begin the second half, as they were scoreless for the first three minutes of the frame. The Buckeyes would put on a scoring clinic in the 3rd, outscoring LSU 23-11 in the quarter to extend their lead to 20 headed to the 4th.
The final quarter of the game is when things got very interesting between these two clubs. With 8:34 left in the game, Pointer gets a steal on lays it in to cut the Buckeye lead to 19 and the run started from there. LSU would cut the lead down to 11 with 2:39 left, but a couple forced shots and bad defense down the stretch would seal the deal for Ohio State.
Khayla Pointer was dominant for the Tigers in her final game at the PMAC, scoring 32 on 12-30 shooting. She also added 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds. Jacy Sheldon was the catalyst for the Buckeyes, scoring 23 on 9-17 shooting. Sheldon, a junior, also added 8 assists, 3 steals, and 3 rebounds.
BIG NUMBER: 8
8 is the difference in three pointers made between the two teams: LSU was only able to hit 2 while the Buckeyes knocked down 10 shots from downtown tonight.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jacy Sheldon
Khayla Pointer was phenomenal for LSU, but Sheldon was the difference maker, with 23 pts, 8 ast, 3 stls, and 3 rebs.
UP NEXT: The Tigers end their first season under Kim Mulkey with a 26-6 record, which is an incredible turnaround from 9-13 a year ago.