COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Northwestern fell for only the second time this season Sunday, dropping an uphill Big Ten battle at Ohio State, 73-64.
Ohio State got out to quick 9-0 lead with the NCAA's second-leading scorer, Kelsey Mitchell, accounting for seven of OSU's nine points, just over three minutes into the contest. Nia Coffey made a free throw that got Northwestern on the scoreboard for the first time at the 15:44 mark and the Buckeyes lead 11-1 when Maggie Lyon hit a 3-pointer with 13:57 left in the half for her team's first field goal. For Lyon, the shot marked the 19th consecutive game in which she's connected at least once from beyond the arc.
With just over 12 minutes to go in the period, Christen Inman scored two of her four first-half points to make it a two-possession game and the Buckeyes leading 14-8. After an OSU turnover, Coffey scored to pull the Wildcats to within four points, nearing the midway point of the frame.
Ohio State's offensive attack remained rather consistent and the home team built toward its largest lead of the afternoon, 12 points, with 2:42 left in the half. Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown called his second timeout of the half about 30 seconds later and the stoppage sparked his group.
The 'Cats closed the half on a 6-0 run spanning the final 2:10. Coffey and Lyon hit jumpers sandwiched around a pair of free throws by Ashley Deary to cut the deficit in half heading into the locker room.
Northwestern had trouble scoring with regularity in the first half, shooting 34.5 percent (10-of-29), and only 10 percent (1-of-10) from downtown. The squad was also hampered by 11 turnovers during the initial 20 minutes, however it did not have one during the final 8:18 of the stanza.
The run continued into the second half for Chicago's Big Ten Team. Northwestern scored the first five points of the period to pull within one at the 17:16 mark when Coffey buried a 3-pointer from right in front of her team's bench.
Ohio State responded with a run of its own to take a 10-point lead, 43-33, when Mitchell nailed a deep three at the 14:09 mark. In a game of surges, though, it was NU's turn to spin together a 9-0 push to climb back to within a point with 11:43 remaining in the game.
The Wildcats could not quite get over the hump, though they remained within a possession or two for the next five minutes or so. Ohio State built a six-point lead with 5:53 to go into a 12-point edge less than two minutes later. During that sequence, Coffey picked up her fifth foul and the NU bench was assessed a technical foul that helped the Buckeyes establish control for good.
Northwestern trailed by double digits for most of the rest of the afternoon. Another triple from Lyon cut the deficit to nine with 25 seconds left, but that was as close as the 'Cats came Sunday.
Lyon led the Wildcats with 17 points, adding a team-high five assists and five rebounds. Coffey, despite fouling out with more than four minutes to play, picked up her second consecutive double-double. The sophomore notched 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Purple and White.
Mitchell netted 23 points for OSU, including 13 in the second half. Shayla Cooper added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes.
With the winter quarter beginning at Northwestern on Monday, the Wildcats will take the week off from competition before hosting the Michigan State Spartans at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. The Wildcats and Spartans have already met once this season with NU winning the Big Ten opener in East Lansing, Mich., 61-57, on Dec. 28.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!