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Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State women's basketball loses first game of season after 19-0 start

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•01/24/23•

andybackstrom

ohio state women's basketball by Greg Fiume/Getty Images
Iowa star Caitlin Clark scored a game-high 28 points in the Hawkeyes' 83-72 win over Ohio State. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Ohio State women’s basketball loses first game of season after 19-0 start

The No. 2 Buckeyes hosted No. 10 Iowa in a top-10 showdown at The Schottenstein Center Monday night but fell, 83-72. The defeat was the first of Ohio State’s season. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s team started the year 19-0, including 8-0 in Big Ten competition.

As she is wont to do, Iowa star Caitlin Clark stole the show. Clark, the nation’s third-leading scorer coming into the matchup, piled up a game-high 28 points. That wasn’t all, though. Thanks to 15 assists and 10 rebounds, she notched the eighth triple-double of her career, the most in Big Ten history.

Clark also joined Dwyane Wade (2003) as the only Division I college basketball players to record a triple-double against an AP Top-2 opponent since the turn of the century.

Ohio State and Iowa traded baskets in the first quarter, but the Hawkeyes made their move in the second period, during which they outscored the Buckeyes, 20-10. Ohio State, which finished 4-of-25 from deep, continued to struggle from outside in the third quarter. Except, the Buckeyes still found their way back into the game, in large part because of eight free throws and their best defensive sequence of the game.

A layup from freshman forward Cotie McMahon — who led the team with 21 points — cut Ohio State’s deficit to just two points, as the Buckeyes entered the final frame on a 10-0 run and trailing Iowa, 56-54.

Iowa responded, however, by rattling off eight of the game’s first 11 points in the fourth quarter. The closest Ohio State would get again would be four points when redshirt junior guard Rikki Harris drilled a 3-pointer, but the Hawkeyes then orchestrated what was a game-clinching 11-2 run.

Ohio State’s 19-game win streak goes down as the third longest in program history.

Brice Sensabaugh tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Week for fourth time

Ohio State men’s basketball had a different streak snapped against Iowa. The Buckeyes ended their five-game skid, in part thanks to a personal-best 27 points from star freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh. It was the most efficient performance of Sensabaugh’s young career. He was 10-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. While he did commit a season-high five turnovers, three of those came in the game’s opening 81 seconds.

Earlier in the week, Sensabaugh bounced back from another slow start. After missing his first eight shots at Nebraska, the Orlando native finished 6-of-8, registering his third straight double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds), albeit in a losing effort.

For those outings, Sensabaugh was recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season. Sensabaugh is second among all freshmen nationally with 17.5 points per game.

Breaking down next items up on Buckeyes offseason to-do list

We’re more than 200 days out from the next Ohio State football regular season game. But that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes aren’t hard at work.

Six weeks of winter workouts means intense conditioning. It’s also a time for players who were limited by injury last season to get back to full strength. And, of course, this period serves as an opportunity for leaders to rise up in the facility.

Lettermen Row is breaking down the next steps the program must take to be on track for a special run in 2023. Check it out below:

READ: Breaking down next items up on Buckeyes offseason to-do list

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 221 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 305 days

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