COLUMBUS, OH – The No. 12 Maryland women's basketball team suffered a 95-89 defeat to the No. 25 Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday night inside the Schottenstein Center. The Terps (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) found themselves trailing after the first quarter. They outscored the Buckeyes (14-3, 6-2) in the remaining three quarters, but came up just short.

Maryland cut the lead to four with 42 seconds remaining in the game after back-to-back three-pointers from Chloe Bibby, but that was as close as the team would get in the final moments as the Buckeyes lead was too great to overcome. 

Angel Reese led Maryland with her 11th double-double of the season with a team-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. All five starters for the Terps scored in double-figures as Reese (22 points), Bibby (20 points) Katie Benzan (16 points), Diamond Miller (12 points), and Ashley Owusu (12 points) all finished with at least 10 points. 

Taylor Mikesell led Ohio State with a career-high 33 points. 
 
Karen Blair's Take
"You know as a team, something we've talked about is honoring Bill's [Frese] legacy. He stood for hard work and family. I'm happy with the performance by the team. I thought this team came out and they played their hearts out. I think we made Bill and Brenda [Frese] proud. Now, obviously we're not satisfied with a loss. That's not what Maryland Basketball is about, but I think our effort and our energy were right. We are happy with that for tonight.
 
"I thought there were a lot of good things today. We talked about it. That first quarter was a rough start for us. If you take away that first quarter, we were +4 the rest of the game. So I think there's a lot of positives for us to take out of here. We had some good executions at the end of the game, but we're still having these little slip-ups that we're allowing other teams to go on a run. We're still not defending the three-point line to the level that we want to. It's something we're going to continue to work on and get better at."


Breaking Down The Action

• The Terps struggled on both ends in the first quarter, but a three-pointer by Mimi Collins at the buzzer cut the Ohio State lead to 25-15 after one. 
• A 9-0 run capped by a Collins jump shot by Maryland put them right back in the game as they cut the score to 33-30 with 3:19 remaining in the half. The Buckeyes would end up taking a 45-37 lead into halftime as Reese led the Terps with 10 first-half points. 
• The Terps cut it to as little as two (47-49) with 6:23 left in the third quarter, but Ohio State's hot shooting buoyed their lead back up to 65-57 after three quarters.
• Bibby and Benzan combined for 22 points over the final 10 minutes, but the Buckeye lead was too great to overcome. 

Double-Figure Update

• Reese (22 points) has scored in double-figures in 16 of 18 games this season and now has 24 career games in double-figures.
• Bibby (20 points) hit double-figures for the 11th time this season and 62nd time in her career.
• Benzan (16 points) hit double-figures for the 90th time in her career and eighth this year.
• Miller (12 points) scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season and 45th time in her career.
• Owusu (12 points) has scored in double-figures in 16 of 18 games this season and now has 63 career games in double-figures. It was Owusu's fourth game this season with 20-plus points. 

Karen Blair Steps In

• Associate Head Coach Karen Blair was the acting head coach for the Terps on Thursday night as head coach Brenda Frese returned to her home of Iowa after the passing of her father, Bill. 

Up Next

• The Terps will return home for a Sunday matinee against the Northwestern Wildcats inside the XFINITY Center at 1 p.m.
• The game will be broadcast on B1G+.