Huskers stumble at No. 2 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Nebraska Athletics) – Nebraska women’s basketball was held to a season-low point total as No. 2 Ohio State ran to an 80-47 win over the Huskers on Wednesday night at Value City Arena.

Nebraska, which slipped to 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the Big Ten, committed a season-high 30 turnovers against Ohio State’s suffocating pressure, which turned into 29 points.

The Buckeyes improved to 22-3 overall and 13-1 in the conference behind 23 points, six rebounds and six assists from Jacy Sheldon, while Cotie McMahon added a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Huskers were led by Alexis Markowski, who managed 9 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Callin Hake added 7 points off the bench, while Natalie Potts and Logan Nissley both contributed 6 points on the night.

Nebraska hit just 36% (18-50) of its shots, including 34.8% (8-23) of 3s, while going 3-for-3 at the free-throw line. NU won the battle of the boards 37-34 but was minus-18 in turnovers.

Ohio State hit 48.5% (32-66), including 9 of 21 3s (.429), while connecting on 7 of 13 free throws.

The Huskers fell behind 14-7 after one quarter and trailed 33-19 at the half before getting outscored 29-15 in the third quarter.

Ohio State dominated defensively in the first half, forcing 15 Nebraska turnovers while holding the Huskers to just 29.2% (7-24) shooting.

The Huskers managed to go 3-for-8 (.375) from 3-point range and hit both of their free throws.

Potts led the Huskers with 6 points in the first half, while Jaz Shelley, Jessica Petrie and Maddie Krull each knocked down one 3-pointer. Markowski added 2 points and 10 first-half rebounds.

Nebraska out-rebounded Ohio State 18-17 in the half.

The Buckeyes turned Nebraska’s turnovers into 11 points on their way to a 33-19 halftime lead.

Sheldon did the most damage for OSU, with 12 points and two assists, while McMahon added 9 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the first 20 minutes.

Ohio State hit 45.2% (14-31) of its first-half shots, including 4 of 9 (.444) 3-pointers, while going 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. The Buckeyes committed eight first-half turnovers.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action by traveling to Purdue on Saturday.

Tipoff between the Big Red and the Boilermakers at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, is set for 3 p.m. with a livestream for Big Ten Plus subscribers.

The game also can be heard on the Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com and the Huskers App.