The Ohio State Buckeyes were already struggling to find their footing in their NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against Montana State when coach Kevin McGuff was charged with a technical foul.

McGuff, frustrated with multiple calls against Ohio State to start the second quarter, indirectly helped the Bobcats cap a 10-0 run to take a 27-23 lead. (Sophomore guard Natalie Picton made two free throws, then slashed to the basket for a layup on the ensuing possession.)

At the same time, the technical provided a boost the Buckeyes needed to break a four-minute scoring drought.

“I think that’s the main thing that takes teams far, when you are fighting for something more,” Ohio State forward Eboni Walker said. “Him showing that consistently is what really fuels our team to want to listen and play hard for not only him, but each other.”

Picton’s layup was the Bobcats’ last basket for nearly 10 minutes of play, as Ohio State went on a 24-0 run that started in the first half and ended in the second.

With a 20-point cushion, the Buckeyes recorded a 71-51 victory at Value City Arena on Friday to advance to the second round.

Ahead of the postseason, senior Taylor Thierry had spoken about Ohio State’s need to play through missed and bad calls, and it was Thierry who was the charged with the foul (her third of the game) that set McGuff off.

“I don’t know if it’s built-up anger, but I feel like that kind of brings us together,” Thierry said. “It just motivates us to play together and just try to get stops. Again, just not focusing on things we can’t control.”

Cotie McMahon, Chance Gray provide key production in Ohio State’s 24-0 run

Fired up, the Buckeyes concluded their only path to victory was to take control and put the game in their own hands.

Following a pair of free throws from freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge to break the scoring drought with 3:17 remaining in the half, forward Cotie McMahon powered her way to the basket on three-consecutive plays, recording five points.

More: Ohio State freshman Jaloni Cambridge excited for first NCAA Tournament

McMahon finished with 15 points, with over 7 coming during the run.

Ohio State held a 32-27 advantage coming out of halftime and continued to pull away behind the hot hand of guard Chance Gray. The first three Ohio State possessions of the second half all resulted in Gray 3-point baskets.

“We played really aggressively in transition,” McGuff said. “When there’s two people there (in transition), you can spread it out to somebody wide open, which is what happened and Chance was obviously capitalizing on those.”

Gray finished the game with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc.

The run came to an end at the 6:18 mark in the third quarter with a Bobcats’ 3-pointer, but the distance Ohio State built was enough to secure a victory.

Ohio State will face No. 5 seed Tennessee in the second round at 8 p.m. on Sunday at Value City Arena.

bmackay@dispatch.com

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