Even Grace Sullivan’s star power couldn’t help Northwestern (6-3, 0-1 B1G) as it opened up conference play with a 79-70 loss to No. 23 Ohio State (7-1, 1-0 B1G) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Grace Sullivan put together arguably the greatest performance in her collegiate career- posting a career-high 37 points on 17-of-28 shooting — the most amount of points scored by a Northwestern player since 2015. For much of the first half, she led the entire OSU team in scoring and was getting everything she wanted with
her jump shot. Caroline Lau aided her with adept passing, dishing out 14 assists. Casey Harter also contributed 13 points and three shots from deep, while Xamiya Walton added 10.
The ‘Cats shot 42% from the field and an impressive 6-of-16 from three. However, their 19 turnovers and interior defense plagued them, as OSU outscored them 40-24 in the paint and attempted 22 free throws, making 19 of them.
After Ohio State won the tip-off, the teams exchanged possession in a scoreless opening three minutes. The game’s first points came from Northwestern’s Grace Sullivan, who converted a jumper. T’yana Todd knocked back a second-chance layup for the Buckeyes, leveling the score at 2-2. Caroline Lau continued to show off her NCAA-best assisting prowess when finding Sullivan for a jumper off the fast break. OSU’s Jaloni Cambridge, who sits fifth in the Big Ten for points, knocked back another two baskets to pull the Buckeyes ahead 6-4.
Sullivan floated another two points in the paint, leveling the ‘Cats 6-6. OSU’s tough press saw Casey Harter nearly crack under pressure, but she found an open Sullivan who continued her scoring streak with another two points. Tate Lash checked in after the media break to pressure OSU’s offense, but it wasn’t enough to stop Cambridge, who sunk another jumper just outside the paint. Sullivan responded with a triple, driving her point total up to 10 on the day. Cambridge made two free throws to once again tie the score at 10-10.
The Sullivan and Lau show continued as the latter found the former for a quick knock back. The duo subsequently blocked an OSU attempt in ’Cats’ defensive end, and off the Buckeyes’ turnover, Lau found Tate Lash, who converted a pull-up jumper to edge the ‘Cats slightly ahead 14-10. The teams traded the ball for the netting few possessions, with important defensive work being done by the ‘Cats’ Daija Turner. Sullivan ended an almost two-minute long scoring drought, as she also drove in another two points to put Northwestern 16-10 up at the end of the first quarter.
The Buckeyes made two free throws to start the second quarter, but Sullivan responded quickly to put the ‘Cats’ advantage back to six points. Chance Gray pulled off a flashy Euro step for the Buckeyes that forced Northwestern to call a time out.
After the break, the teams once again continued to trade possession. Cambridge fought the shot clock to swish a basket just inside the three-point arc, but her efforts were mitigated by a Tayla Thomas layup. OSU’s Elsa Lemmila quickly responded with a layup of her own.
It was Xamiya Walton, though, who won the moment of the half after she pump faked an OSU player who went flying into some courtside audience members, and proceeded to drain a triple. Still, Northwestern’s advantage began to slip away as Cambridge and Elsa Lemmila scored two baskets to reduce OSU’s deficit to just a point. Sullivan took matters into her own hands, finishing yet another jumper.
Cambridge continued to excel inside the paint, and she made another basket to tie the game 25-25 with 3:21 to go in the half. Defensive scrambles and offensive turnovers were the themes of the end of the first quarter, but back-to-back three-pointers from Buckeyes saw Northwestern behind for the first time all game. Lemmila scored a put-back to round out the half, putting the Buckeyes up 33-25 and capping off an 11-0 run.
After an impressive first quarter from NU, OSU outscored the ‘Cats 23-9 in the second frame. The first half saw Sullivan score 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while the rest of the ‘Cats offense scored seven points on 3-0f-19 shooting.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Kylee Kitts scored her first points of the game to extend OSU’s lead to 10. Harter responded with a three-pointer, and two plays later an unguarded Lau converted from the same spot. Cambridge and Kitts combined for five points inside the paint, and a bad defensive turnover saw OSU extend their scoring streak to 7-0 with 6:38 in the quarter. Though Sullivan finished another two points off a court-long pass, it wasn’t enough to correct the Wildcats’ defensive troubles.
The Buckeyes’ onslaught continued as Gray netted two points. Sullivan scored another consolation layup, but NU head coach Joe McKeown called a timeout with 5:36 to go as the ’Cats were down 46-35. A three-pointer by Todd increased Northwestern’s deficit, and a subsequent offensive turnover saw Cambridge add insult to injury for the ‘Cats, who entered the media timeout in a slump.
After the stoppage, Kitts notched another two free throws. Sullivan made a consolation layup, which was supplemented by a Lau triple to reduce NU’s deficit to 13 with 3:57 left. Gray scored another two for the Buckeyes while Sullivan began to flirt with her career-best points figure of 31 as she scored another layup. OSU won fouls on the offensive, netting six free throws to put the Buckeyes up 59-42, but Walton responded with her second triple of the night. Sullivan then made two free throws to put her point tally to 28. The ‘Cats exited the third quarter down 61-47.
Lash and Walton made the opening baskets for NU in the fourth quarter, reducing its deficit to 12 to go in the game. Kitts, however, furthered her own tally with an added seven points, four of which were on the line, pushing the Buckeyes up to a 68-51 lead.
Tensions began to flare amongst the two teams as they exchanged foul calls and, in some cases, accidental hits to the face. Walton showed composure through it all as she made a jumper off an OSU turnover, while Harter scored two free throws of her own. After Cambridge breezed past the NU defense and scored a layup to put her at 20 points on the day, Sullivan countered with a tip-in that saw her reach 30 points.
An uncharacteristic turnover from Lau allowed Cambridge to score a layup off a full court drive, pushing OSU up 74-57 with 4:13 to go. The next play, Kitts added another two points for the Buckeyes with a midrange jumper. Harter knocked back a three pointer, lowering the ‘Cats’ deficit to 14, and Sullivan surpassed her all-time best points figure as she converted an and-one. Todd, however, responded with a three-pointer of her own to neutralize Sullivan’s threat. Gray and Lemmila each went 1-for-2 on free throws, increasing the Buckeyes’ lead to 79-63.
NU finished the day with a 7-0 run thanks to four points from Sullivan and a three-pointer from Harter, but it was to no avail. The team’s B1G opener ended in a 79-70 loss to the Buckeyes.
The ’Cats will next head to the west coast as they play Utah on Sunday, Dec. 14. at 3 p.m. CT.
