Women’s Basketball: Viewership soars to 14-year high with Ohio State-Iowa overtime thriller

Ellen Geyer
Thu, 25 Jan 2024 04:43:01 +0000
Instagram Page, News, Sports, Women's Basketball, Beth Howe, Buckeyes, buckeyes basketball, Buckeyes women’s basketball, Carla Morrow, Celeste Taylor, Cotie McMahon, Diana Collins, Eboni Walker, Emma Shumate, Jacy Sheldon, Jalen Powell, Kaia Henderson, Karla Vres, Kennedy Cambridge, Kevin McGuff, Madison Greene, ohio state, ohio state basketball, Ohio State women's basketball, Ohio State women's basketball roster, ohio state women's basketball schedule, Ohio State women's basketball score, osu, OSU basketball, Osu women’s basketball, Rebeka Mikulasikova, Reid Guzdanski [and 6 more]

Sophomore Forward, Cotie McMahon, is surrounded by her teammates during a celebration in the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on January 21st 2024 at the Schottenstein Center.
Credit: Lily Hynes | Assistant Photo Editor

Approximately 3.9 million eyes were on the Ohio State women’s basketball team Sunday as lead scorers Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon led the Buckeyes to an 8-point overtime victory over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.?

The clash of these Big Ten titans was the most-watched regular season game of women’s collegiate basketball in the past 14 years, averaging 1.93 million viewers across five heart-stopping periods of play.?

It was a battle from the opening tip, the first quarter marked by five ties and three lead changes.?

Ohio State led 29-27 early in the second, but couldn’t win the advantage back again until 3:44 remained in the fourth. A Celeste Taylor layup capped an incredible 19-6 run that brought the Buckeyes back in front, 77-76.?

The end of regulation flipped the script, and Ohio State never trailed during the five-minute overtime period, winning 100-92 over then-No. 2 Iowa.?

McMahon led the scoring with a career-high 33 points to go with 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Sheldon had 24 of her own, playing every second of the 45-minute match, and each of Ohio State’s starting five ended the night in double-figures.?

The Hawkeyes went down swinging under Clark’s 45-point performance, but the reigning National Player of the Year’s efforts were not enough to overcome the Buckeyes’ late surge.?

Ohio State will ride their five-game win streak to Champaign, Illinois, where they face another conference foe in Illinois at 7 p.m., Thursday night. Clark and her Hawkeyes will have another chance at the Buckeyes on March 3, hosting a rematch that will conclude the regular season for both teams.