Women’s Basketball: McMahon free throws push Ohio State past Iowa 60-59 and into semifinals

Connor Canfield
Sat, 08 Mar 2025 21:34:18 +0000
Basketball, Instagram Page, News, Sports, Women's Basketball, Beth Howe, Big Ten, Big Ten conference, Big Ten conference play, Big Ten Play, Buckeyes, buckeyes basketball, Buckeyes women’s basketball, Carla Morrow, Celeste Taylor, conference play, Cotie McMahon, Diana Collins, Eboni Walker, Emma Shumate, Faith Carson, Jacy Sheldon, Jalen Powell, Kaia Henderson, Karla Vres, Kennedy Cambridge, KenPom, KenPom rankings, Kevin McGuff, Madison Greene, march madness, NCAA Tournament [and 17 more]

Ohio State senior guard/forward Taylor Thierry (2) makes a layup during the game against Iowa Friday. The Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes 60-59 in the B1G Tournament. Credit: Ohio State Athletics

Cotie McMahon stepped to the line with 6.7 seconds left in the game, Ohio State down by one. It was a one-and-one and both would give the Buckeyes the win.

The first went through.

And then the second.

Behind McMahon’s free throws, No. 3-seeded Ohio State knocked off No. 11 Iowa, 60-59, to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal on Saturday in Indianapolis, where it’ll face UCLA.

McMahon scored a game-high 18 points and shot 6-of-13 from the field.

Both teams shot under 40% from the field, but 14 points from the Buckeye bench and 12 second-chance points fueled Ohio State to the win.

The Buckeyes raced out to a seven-point lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game.

The lead grew to as many as nine in the first, with a layup by guard Jaloni Cambridge giving Ohio State a 14-5 lead with 2:52 left in the frame.

The Hawkeyes cut the deficit back down to five headed into the second quarter, as the Buckeyes held a 14-9 lead.

Iowa battled back in the second with a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from guard Lucy Olsen to tie the game at 18.

But the Buckeyes immediately followed that up with a 6-0 run of their own as Cambridge finished the run with a layup to take a 24-18 lead.

The Hawkeyes took their first lead of the game on a layup from forward Hannah Stuelke with 43 seconds left before half.

On the ensuing possession, Taylor Thierry split the defense on a drive and converted an and-1 to give Ohio State a 29-28 lead that it carried into the break.

Iowa’s zone defense proved troublesome for the Buckeyes in the first half of the third quarter, as the Hawkeyes took a four-point lead while holding Ohio State to 25% from the field.

As time expired in the third quarter, forward Eboni Walker pulled down an offensive rebound and connected on a layup to give the Buckeyes a 48-46 lead headed into the final frame.

Both teams battled throughout the fourth before Thierry buried a 3-pointer with 4:10 left to play to give Ohio State a six-point lead they seemed poised to hold.

But the Hawkeyes surged in a big way. They scored eight of the game’s next nine points, capped by back-to-back triples from guard Sydney Affolter. Iowa took a 59-58 lead with 1:18 to go.

But that would be the last time the Hawkeyes scored.

With just seconds remaining, McMahon drew the deciding foul and drained the two free throws to give Ohio State a 60-59 victory.

The Buckeyes (25-5, 13-5 Big Ten) are back in action Saturday and take on the second-seeded UCLA Bruins (28-2, 16-2 Big Ten) in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.