March Madness 2022: Jacy Sheldon paces Ohio State to win over LSU

Jacy Sheldon had no likelihood to shine on girls’s faculty basketball’s largest stage final season as a result of her Ohio State Buckeyes have been beneath a self-imposed postseason ban for a earlier coach’s recruiting violations.

Earlier than a big, loud and hostile crowd at LSU, Sheldon delivered a stirring, all-court efficiency that was two years within the making.

Sheldon had 23 factors, eight assists and three steals, and sixth seed Ohio State beat No. 3 seed LSU 79-64 within the second spherical of the NCAA Match on Monday night time.

“If something, it motivated us,” Sheldon stated of last-year’s postseason ban. “All of us acquired higher throughout that point and targeted on our recreation and what we wanted to enhance on. So, I’m proud. And it’s displaying. A whole lot of us have labored actually laborious.”

Taylor Mikesell scored 18 and Rebeka Mikulasikova had 12 factors for the Buckeyes (25-6), who seized momentum within the opening quarter and put LSU within the deepest deficit it had face all season at 24 factors late within the third quarter.

“It’s powerful to play in, but additionally probably the most enjoyable to play in — particularly for rivals. It’s what you sit up for,” Sheldon stated of the setting on the Pete Maravich Meeting Middle. “I’m tremendous happy with our entire workforce. We stayed collectively.”

LSU (26-6), which overcame a 10-point deficit inside the ultimate 5 minutes of their first spherical recreation towards Jackson State two days earlier, lacked the firepower to climb out of a much bigger gap towards Sheldon and Co.

Khayla Pointer, the Tigers’ second-team All-America guard, scored 32 factors, but additionally missed 18 of her 30 photographs, her dry spells coming because the Buckeyes pulled away.

“Simply couldn’t put the ball within the gap,” Pointer stated. “It places a lot extra strain in your protection when you possibly can’t rating.”

Jailin Cherry scored 12 factors for LSU, which hit simply twice from 3-point vary on eight makes an attempt. Autumn Newby grabbed 10 rebounds for the Tigers.

Ohio State led 34-26 at halftime and opened the third quarter with 13-2 run that Mikesell capped with a deep 3 to present the Buckeyes a 47-28 lead.

Later within the third, Sheldon hit consecutive 3s from either side of the courtroom to make it 57-33.

“It’s type of like, how do you actually defend her?” LSU coach Kim Mulkey stated of Sheldon’s means to attain from the perimeter in addition to dribble penetrate and discover open gamers. “She’s an impressive participant.”

After Pointer hit a 3 on LSU’s first shot of the sport, the Tigers missed 15 of their subsequent 17 photographs. That is when Sheldon started to exert her full-court affect on the sport, changing three steals into fast-break layups in a span of little greater than two minutes.

“You by no means noticed her at any level the place she wasn’t poised,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff stated of Sheldon. “That was the important thing for our means to complete out the sport, was Jacy’s poise, preserving us organized, operating the workforce, ending photographs across the basket once we wanted them.”

BIG PICTURE

Ohio State: The Buckeyes overcame the the Tigers’ front-court measurement benefit by capturing properly from outdoors and successfully defending the paint when Pointer tried to drive and outrebounding LSU 43-36. Ohio State’s 10 3s on 22 makes an attempt have been greater than their common of 8.3 per recreation coming in and so they shot 48.3% general (28 of 58).

Rikki Harris, a beginning guard, was helped again to the Ohio State locker room with about three minutes left after falling laborious alongside the sideline and crashing into the scorers’ desk.

LSU: The Tigers eight factors within the opening quarter tied for his or her lowest-scoring quarter this season. It was a nasty omen as they struggled with their capturing, ending 25 of 68 capturing (37%). In addition they missed 10 of twenty-two free throws.

Nonetheless, Mulkey’s first season at LSU was broadly seen as a smashing success after the Tigers received simply 9 video games the earlier season.

“This bunch jump-started this program once more. It revived it once more,” Mulkey stated of the seniors she inherited when she left Baylor after 21 seasons for the flagship college in her native Louisiana. “I am ceaselessly grateful to them. … They simply embraced us as a workers and let me coach them.”

SURREAL MOMENT

Because the second half was about beginning, McGuff glanced up on the video board to see his daughter, Kilyn, on the courtroom for Belmont the top of its 70-67 loss to Tennessee. Then he needed to proceed teaching.

“So, I’m watching her after which simply making an attempt to get targeted for the sport,” McGuff stated. “A really surreal second for me and for our household. However I’m actually happy with her and the season that she had with Belmont and their struggle tonight.”

UP NEXT:

Now within the third spherical of the NCAA Match for the primary time since 2017, Ohio State meets second seed Texas within the Spokane Area semifinals on Friday.