Kelsey Mitchell scored one point in the first half of No. 7 Ohio State’s 76-73 win over Northwestern on Thursday night.
She finished with 27.
Nobody on the Scarlet and Gray’s sideline seemed concerned in the meantime.
”She’s so good I knew she’d turn it on when we needed it,” said Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff.
His message to her after she went 0 for 8 from the floor in the first half was, ”Just stay confident. Stay aggressive. She kind of felt like she was playing a little too fast so I said, `Go ahead and slow down but stay aggressive.”’
That turned out to be good advice.
Twice the Big Ten’s leading scorer made 3-pointers to give Ohio State one-point leads in the fourth quarter, but Northwestern quickly jumped back in front.
Then the sophomore point guard had 3 points and a steal during a 7-0 run that gave the Buckeyes the lead for good in the final two minutes.
”People like (teammate Cait Craft) and the coaches say keep shooting and they’ll fall,” said Mitchell, who ended up 8 for 23 from the field, including 4 for 13 from 3-point range. ”You can’t stop shooting or you’ll never get in a rhythm.”
Northwestern (13-8, 2-7 Big Ten) led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but the teams traded the lead five times in the fourth.
Craft and Alexa Hart scored 14 points apiece for Ohio State (16-4, 8-1) while Ameryst Alston added 11.
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