Women's Hoops Fall in NCAA First Round Matchup with Ohio State

Saturday, March 18

Columbus, Ohio

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

26-8,13-5Sun Belt

Ohio State

26-7,12-6Big Ten

James Madison

Ohio St.

Women's Hoops Fall in NCAA First Round Matchup with Ohio State

3/18/2023 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 14 seed James Madison led No. 3 seed Ohio State 26-14 after the opening quarter, but saw the Buckeyes outscore the Dukes 66-40 the rest of the way as OSU came away with an 80-66 victory on Saturday afternoon inside Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center.

JMU finishes the season with a record of 26-8 (13-5 Sun Belt), the most wins for the program since the 2018-19 season when the Dukes went 29-6 (16-2 CAA). The Buckeyes (26-7, 12-6 Big Ten) will play the winner of No. 6 North Carolina and No. 11 St. John's.

Senior Kiki Jefferson led the way for James Madison with 17 points and eight rebounds. Junior Jamia Hazell added 10 points and five boards in 24 minutes of action, while graduate student Caroline Germond finished with eight points and a pair of assists. Juniors Peyton McDaniel and Annalicia Goodman both contributed with nine points off the bench.

How It Happened

The Dukes recorded their biggest first quarter of the season, tallying 26 points for a 26-14 lead after one. Jefferson paced all scorers with nine points in the frame.
JMU built a 16-point advantage, 35-19, with 4:01 remaining in the half. However, Ohio State came storming back with a 15-2 run, forcing three James Madison turnovers in the waning minutes. Still, the Dukes went into intermission up 37-34.
Jefferson and Hazell each produced four points in the second, while OSU's Cotie McMahon had 11.
The Buckeyes tied the game at 37-all at the 8:49 mark of the third quarter. Ohio State took the lead minutes later, 48-44, with 4:53 left. OSU owned a 54-50 edge heading into the final frame.
Ohio State opened the fourth on an 8-0 run, as the Dukes committed three turnovers in the first two-plus minutes of action. The Buckeyes continued to separate, going up by 17, 71-54, with 5:34 to go in the contest.
JMU trailed by 10 with under a minute to go, 77-67, but could not overcome the deficit, falling 80-66.

Game Notes

James Madison held Ohio State to just two three-pointers, with an 11.8% clip (2-of-17) on the afternoon.
The Dukes fell despite leading for 20:56.
The Buckeyes forced 21 JMU turnovers which they converted into 22 points. Twenty-one turnovers were the second-most by the Dukes in 2022-23, behind 22 at Southern Miss on Jan. 7.
JMU also committed 27 personal fouls in the physical contest, second only to the 28 that occurred at Longwood on Nov. 17.
The Dukes won the rebounding battle, 44-36.
James Madison trails Ohio State in the all-time series, 7-0.