Iowa 77, Ohio State 68 | Buckeyes women fall short against Big Ten co-leaders

The Ohio State women’s basketball team took its best shot at Big Ten co-leader Iowa on Thursday night but came up short in the second half of a 77-68 loss in Iowa City.

Sophomore Dorka Juhasz had 22 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Buckeyes (11-8, 4-4), who led 39-35 at halftime and had the score tied at 58 with 6:09 left in the fourth quarter.

From that point, when freshman Jacy Sheldon made two free throws to tie the score, the 19th-ranked Hawkeyes (16-3, 7-1) went on an 8-1 run and never trailed again. The Buckeyes got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Sophomore Janai Crooms scored 16 points, Sheldon 13 and freshman Kierstan Bell 10. Freshman Madison Greene made five assists for Ohio State.

Kathleen Doyle paced Iowa with 26 points, and Makenzie Meyer had 19.

The Buckeyes' hopes for an upset looked promising early. After the Hawkeyes shot out to a 6-0 lead, three-pointers from Sheldon and Juhasz tied the score, and the Buckeyes went on to take a 23-21 lead after the first quarter on a late three-pointer from Crooms.

They kept the lead for long stretches of the second quarter, going ahead 39-32 with 45 seconds left in the half on a Juhasz three-pointer. Iowa slowly asserted itself in the third quarter, taking a 49-47 lead on a Meyer three-pointer with 3:19 left and going into the fourth quarter ahead by one point.

The Buckeyes face another ranked opponent in their next game, Thursday at Value City Arena against No. 20 Maryland.