Ohio State women's basketball clinches Big Ten regular season title with victory over Michigan

Ohio State entered Wednesday’s game against rival Michigan one victory away from a title. The Buckeyes, 15-1 in Big Ten play, could clinch the outright regular season championship with a win over the Wolverines in Columbus.

They didn’t leave much room for doubt – and the celebration began right away.

Confetti started falling from the top of Value City Arena just prior to tip-off, although the Peacock broadcast said it was because of some shows in the building this week. When Ohio State finished off the 67-51 victory over Michigan, though, the rest of the red and white poured down from the ceiling.

The Buckeyes pulled off their second regular-season title in three years.

“It’s huge,” Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon said on the Peacock broadcast postgame. “Especially the group we have, it makes it that much more special. To do it the against The Team Up North was really exciting for us, too. But I’m just proud of these girls, man. The effort and the hard work we put in every day, it’s paying off. We’ve still got some more to go.”

Sheldon led the charge for the Buckeyes with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point territory. Cotie McMahon and Celeste Taylor weren’t far behind her with 18 points and 12 points, respectively.

But Ohio State – as it has all season – did most of its work on defense. The Buckeyes forced 29 Michigan turnovers and turned those into 30 points to help make the difference in the game.

“That’s what we like to do,” Sheldon said. “We like to get out there and press and cause chaos. And we did it really well today. We started a little slow, but I think those last two quarters, we got it going and that leads to our offense, as well.”

There’s only one game remaining for Ohio State before the conference tournament – but it’s a big one. The Buckeyes are getting ready to head to Iowa City to take on Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Sunday in a rematch of the thriller from earlier this season. Ohio State won that matchup in overtime, 100-92, at Value City Arena.

Suffice to say, the Buckeyes are ready for the rematch.

“We’re really excited,” Sheldon said. “We’re looking forward to going to Iowa and Iowa City and playing there. It’s a great atmosphere. We’re excited for it. They’ve got a great team and so do we, so we know it’s gonna be a big one. Like I said, we’ll get back here in a day and get ready for that matchup.”