Jacy Sheldon reveals key to fast start, forcing turnovers vs. Penn State

Jacy Sheldon scored 20 points on Thursday as No. 2 Ohio State outpaced Penn State 82-69 on the road.

The Buckeyes never trailed and led by as many as 30 points over the Nittany Lions. Ohio State got off to a 13-0 start and never looked back despite Penn State’s best efforts in the game’s final quarter.

“That was something we wanted to do, especially here with this great atmosphere. We wanted to start the game that way,” Sheldon said of Ohio State’s hot start during the postgame broadcast. “Usually, we come out strong in the third quarter. We knew we had to do it from the start today.”

The Buckeyes forced 27 turnovers thanks to their full-court press. Sheldon only had one steal, but her teammate Celeste Taylor finished the game with seven. Altogether, seven of the 11 Ohio State players that saw the floor finished the game having forced at least one turnover.

“It’s our chemistry, and it’s only getting stronger in the press,” Sheldon continued. “It’s been fun to watch game to game, but it’s really strong and it’s getting better at the right time so we are excited. … We’re really happy with where we’re at, but we’re not there yet. We know that we’ve got a long way to go and we’ve got a good group to deal with.”

The win improves the Buckeyes to 14-1 in Big Ten Conference play and 23-3 overall. They sit 1.5 games in front of Iowa in the current Big Ten standings, which means if the Buckeyes win their next two games at home against Maryland and Michigan — which they are expected to do — Ohio State can lose its March 3 season final against No. 4 Iowa and still win the Big Ten regular-season championship.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Sheldon and the Buckeyes are taking their collective foot off the gas. Ohio State still has a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament to play for and a win over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City would be the nail in the coffin for the Buckeyes’ top seeding next month. That would likely be regardless of their efforts in the conference tournament as well.

First, the Buckeyes will welcome Maryland to Columbus this Sunday. The opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will air live on the Big Ten Network. They’ll quickly turn around on Wednesday to host rival Michigan.