Ohio State defeats Montana State 71-51 in NCAA tournament opener
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The madness has begun but the Buckeyes have avoided a first round upset.
The Ohio State women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after a 71-51 win over Montana State in its opener Friday at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes will face Tennessee on Sunday at a time to be determined. The Lady Vols defeated South Florida 101-66 Friday in Columbus.
After a tight first half where Ohio State had a five point lead at the break, Chance Gray came out of the locker room on fire with three consecutive shots from downtown to give OSU a commanding double digit lead. Gray and Cotie McMahon each had 15 points while Taylor Thierry led the Buckeyes with 16.
"Yeah they went on their run and it was time for us to go on our run," Gray said. "We literally said in the huddle, we weren't going to let them score or get the ball at all and I feel like that's what shifted our mentality."
Ohio State took advantage of 26 Montana State turnovers, scoring 32 points. OSU also outrebounded the Bobcats 32-23.
The fourth-seeded Buckeyes are at home to open the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row and have yet to lose at home this season. The victory was a bounce back after suffering a lopsided loss to UCLA in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis nearly two weeks ago.
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