No. 8 Ohio State escaped another overtime on Monday, defeating Iowa 86-78 at Value City Arena.
Technical issues in the arena kept the score from being displayed throughout the game. When the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, despite what the scoreboard failed to display, the score was tied 74-74 and there was going to be extra basketball.
This came after Ohio State beat Minnesota in overtime 87-84 on Thursday.
“It’s sort of the same story,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “We have such great stretches and such great highs, even within specific games, but we don’t sustain that for lone enough to put teams away.”
Just as she did against Minnesota, forward Cotie McMahon took control late against Iowa with 25 points, 20 coming after halftime.
Iowa pulled within two points with 16 seconds left when guard Sydney Affolter finished a three-point play. Affolter was fouled by center Elsa Lemmila on a layup.
With the Buckeyes ahead 73-72, McMahon missed one of two free throws, and the Hawkeyes the ball had the back with 13 seconds left.
McMahon fouled guard Lucy Olsen 10 seconds later, allowing Olsen to force overtime on two made free throws.
Despite the costly foul, McMahon and freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge were crucial in overtime, combining for 9 of the Buckeyes’ 12 points.
“A lot of eyes are on us in those moments,” McMahon said. “So, I think it’s up to us whether we do what we know we can do or, kind of fold in that pressure.”
Cambridge capitalized on the opportunity to make her mark in her first game of the Ohio State-Iowa rivalry, finishing with a team-high 29 points.
“I couldn’t be there in the Minnesota overtime,” Cambridge said. “But just being here in this game just really showed that we got in, and we’re never going to give up.”
The biggest play in overtime came on the efforts of Jaloni Cambridge’s sister, guard Kennedy Cambridge. In Iowa’s final chance to come back in overtime with Ohio State ahead 81-78, Kennedy Cambridge blocked a layup by guard Teagan Mallegni on an offensive rebound.
The block lead to a fast-break basket for Taylor Thierry with 30 seconds remaining.
Kennedy Cambridge recorded a season-high 16 points.
“Kennedy came into the game, and we definitely weren’t going to win without her,” McMahon said. “Just the fact that we can bring people off the bench to come in and just focus on the little things that we need, as far as defense, rebounding, it’s really cool.”
Ohio State led by 14 points nearing the end of the second quarter.
A 13-3 run from Iowa in the third quarter cut the Buckeyes’ advantage to four points over the span of 3:47 minutes.
Ohio State plays next at 7 p.m. Thursday at Indiana.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women: Cotie McMahon leads Ohio State past Iowa in OT
