Alexa PhilippouESPN18:27 ET3 minute read
Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon reunite for 40 in OSU’s upset by UConn
Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon combine for 40 points as the Buckeyes upset the Huskies 73-61.
SEATTLE — UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma noted earlier this season that all good things are coming to an end after the Huskies lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 1993.
Well, the same could be said on Saturday, albeit in relation to something of far greater scope and shocking proportions: UConn, the No. 2 seed, will not appear in the Final Four for the first time since 2007 after failing in the Sweet 16 The Seattle 3 Regional is down to the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 73-61.
It is also the first time since 2005 that the Huskies have already been eliminated in the regional semifinals of an NCAA tournament.
Ohio State will appear in its first Elite Eight since 1993.
UConn was 10 points behind at halftime, only their sixth time in an NCAA tournament game in a double-digit halftime deficit. It’s now 0-6 in those appearances.
The Huskies managed to get within five late in the third quarter, but Ohio State hit enough shots to extend their lead back to 10 by the final frame. Playing a 3 by Rikki Harris with 8 minutes and 23 seconds put the Buckeyes up a 16 lead, and although UConn later cut to nine twice in the fourth, it couldn’t get any closer.
Twenty-five turnovers — including 18 in the first half from which the Buckeyes scored 19 points — allowed Ohio State to extend their lead. It’s also the most UConn has brought to the ball in an NCAA tournament game since at least 1999-00. The Huskies didn’t help, shooting 7-for-15 from the free-throw line while star forward Aaliyah Edwards had limited minutes due to foul problems.
They were outplayed 21-9 in the crucial second quarter.
“We picked the worst day to actually do the things that we’ve struggled with all year,” Auriemma told ESPN’s Holly Rowe earlier in the fourth quarter. “And those three quarters caught up with us all.”
Auriemma’s squad has endured a number of injuries this season. Alongside 2020-21 International Player of the Year Paige Bueckers, who missed the entire season with a cruciate ligament injury, former No. 1 recruit Azzi Fudd was sidelined for most of the regular season with knee injuries. Still, the Huskies have played strong basketball since the March calendar change, even as Fudd returned to the court, winning the Big East tournament and progressing through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
Freshman Cotie McMahon led Ohio State by 23 points while Lou Lopez Senechal led the Huskies by 25 points.