Ohio State defeats Sac State women’s basketball team 104-74
Buckeyes best Hornets at the Nest with 7 active players
Ohio State junior guard Braxtin Miller and freshman forward Rebeka Mikulasikova guard Sac State senior guard Gabi Bade against the Hornets on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Nest. The Hornets were defeated by the Buckeyes 104-74.
December 17, 2019
The Sacramento State women’s basketball team returned home to the Nest on Tuesday night following a five-game road trip and lost to The Ohio State University 104-74.
The Hornets (1-7) and Buckeyes (7-4) were originally scheduled to play last season on Nov. 16 in a doubleheader with the men’s team. However, due to the Camp Fire, Ohio State cancelled the game and rescheduled it for the 2019-20 season.
The Buckeyes posed a tough test for the Hornets as a Power Five school from the Big Ten Conference. The Hornets also came into Tuesday’s game looking to break a five-game losing streak and earn their first Division I win of the season.
Ohio State played with seven active players against the Hornets due to three players being suspended for violating team rules.
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The Buckeyes came out strong in the first quarter, getting out to a 20-10 lead midway through the first. Ohio State shot the ball well in the first period, making 68% of their field goals en route to a 36-20 lead at the end of the first.
Sac State responded well in the second quarter. The Hornets outscored Ohio State 22-14 in the second to cut the halftime deficit to single digits at 50-42.
Sac State carried their momentum into the second half, nearly putting the Buckeyes on upset alert. Senior guard Kennedy Nicholas made her first 3-point attempt of the season for the Hornets with 8:22 left in the third quarter to cut the Ohio State lead to 51-49.
From that point on, the Buckeyes squashed the Hornets. Ohio State outscored Sac State 53-25 in the final 18 minutes of the game to win 104-74.
“Ohio State does a really good job,” head coach Bunky Harkleroad said. “That’s a great program and they have a really, really good team.”
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The Buckeyes were led to the win by a monster performance from Dorka Juhasz. The 6’4 sophomore forward made the most of her height advantage against the Hornets, with game-highs 27 points and 16 rebounds. Juhasz was followed by freshman guard Jacey Sheldon who scored 23 points on an efficient 9-11 from the field.
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“It’s an awesome opportunity,” sophomore forward Tiana Johnson said about playing a big school like Ohio State. “I think we’re all pretty excited to play them (but) a little hesitant. They were big girls out there. I think we went into it trying to give them all we had and it just didn’t play out for us in the end.”
The Hornets were led in scoring once again by senior guard Gabi Bade. Bade had a team-high 16 points.
Unlike the rest of her teammates, this was not Bade’s first time playing the Buckeyes. While at the University of Buffalo, Bade matched up against Ohio State in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
“It was a good team experience playing against a Power Five school,” Bade said. “They’re probably the best team that we’ve played this year. When we go towards conference, I think all these games that we’ve lost that were winnable prepare us to win in (the Big Sky) Conference.”
Sac State will attempt to break its six-game losing streak against Pacific Union College on Thursday at the Nest with tipoff set for 5:35 p.m.
