The Ohio State Buckeyes and Villanova Wildcats both advanced to the Sweet Sixteen on Monday. Here are our recaps of their second-round games:
No. 3 seed Ohio State Buckeyes over No. 6 seed North Carolina Tar Heels, 71-69
Jacy Sheldon split two defenders with a crossover dribble that she nearly lost control of and then rose up for a little teardrop that seemed like it might be a little too strong but went in after hitting the back of the rim to put the Buckeyes up 71-69 with 1.8 seconds remaining. It proved to be the game-winner, as the ensuing North Carolina inbound went off the backboard and down to Buckeye Rikki Harris, who threw a long pass to Cotie McMahon as time expired.
Sheldon not only made the winning shot, but was the player of the game for Ohio State with 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. She put up the best Ohio State stat line in the first round as well; it seems she’s back to being the team’s best player after struggling to re-establish herself when she first came back from her leg injury. Also, the Buckeyes are simply using her more. She averaged 15 minutes over three Big Ten Tournament games before playing 36 in the first round of the Big Dance and all 40 on Monday.
Ohio…
