No. 14 Ohio State women on a tear after beating third-straight ranked team

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The No. 14 Ohio State women's basketball team beat its third-straight ranked opponent Thursday when the Buckeyes took down No. 16. Indiana 86-80.

OSU is 10-1 this year with its only loss coming to Nebraska on Jan. 16. Since that defeat, the Buckeyes have rattled off three wins over teams ranked in the top 16 starting with a close 81-77 win over No. 12 Michigan followed by a another tight win over No. 7 Maryland continuing Thursday night versus Indiana.

But perhaps more impressive than any of those wins was Ohio State's road win over Iowa on Jan. 13 when the Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes 82-80 in overtime snapping Iowa's 42-game home win streak.

"It's a great team because every night there's someone else that's stepping up," junior Dorka Juhasz said.

The Buckeyes boast the 10th-highest scoring offense in the country averaging 84.6 points a game with five players averaging at least 12 points a game.

OSU is led in scoring by Jacy Sheldon who averages 16 points a game and is the Buckeyes' leading three-point shooter. Juhasz is a force in the paint pacing the team in rebounds with 11 a game and their assist leader is Madison Greene who dishes out four a game.

A chance for a fourth-straight win over a ranked team will come Monday when OSU plays at No. 23 Northwestern.

But Ohio State won't be a threat in the NCAA Tournament because the Buckeyes aren't playing in it.

The violations in the women’s basketball program are connected to former assistant coach Patrick Klein, who was with the program from 2011 until he resigned in August 2019. In its findings, Ohio State said that Klein knowingly provided extra benefits to multiple student-athletes.

Ohio State reported that Klein refused to cooperate with the school’s investigation. Ohio State updated its records to show that he left the school in lieu of being fired.

The postseason bans means the Buckeyes are even more determined to win the Big Ten regular season title and the conference tournament.

Ohio State won the Big Ten Tournament in 2018 and lost in the championship game last season to Maryland.

OSU still has nine games remaining on its schedule.