By Canadian Press on February 13, 2025.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Cotie McMahon scored 25 points and Elsa Lemmila finished with six points and a pivotal last-second block as No. 9 Ohio State beat Minnesota 87-84 in overtime on Thursday night. Ava Watson scored 16 points, and Jaloni Cambridge and Taylor Thierry added 10 apiece for Ohio State (21-3, 10-3 Big Ten), which squandered a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Sophie Hart scored 21 points for Minnesota (19-7, 7-7), well above her season average of 8.5 points. Alexsia Rose added 17 as Minnesota got double-digit scoring from five players. Takeaways Ohio State: The Buckeyes had 13 steals in the game, nine more than the Gophers. Ohio State scored 30 points off Minnesota miscues. Minnesota: The Gophers were active on the glass and outrebounded the Buckeyes 35-27. The edge helped Minnesota to a plus-10 margin in second-chance points, kepping the Gophers in the game. Key moment Lemmila ended helped seal the win with a block of Annika Stewart in the corner with one second remaining. Key stat Ohio State shot 75% from the floor in overtime, hitting 6 of 8 shots. Ohio State ended up needing every point as Minnesota shot 50% from the floor. Up next Minnesota hosts Oregon on Sunday. Ohio State hosts Iowa on Monday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball The Associated Press 17