Ohio State Hosts Illinois Sunday and Ball State Tuesday

No. 12/7 Ohio State vs. No. 21/21 Illinois / Ball State
Dates: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 and Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024
Venue: Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center (Columbus, Ohio)
Games:

1. Sunday vs. No. 21/21 Illinois (4 p.m. ET) | BTN | Live Stats
2. Tuesday vs. Ball State (6 p.m. ET) | B1G+ | Live Stats

Rosters: Ohio State | Illinois | Ball State
Notes: Ohio State
 
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 12/7 Ohio State women’s basketball team (7-0) opens conference play by hosting No. 21/21 Illinois (7-1) on Sunday for a 4 p.m. ET tip on BTN / AM1460. The Buckeyes then go back to their non-conference slate to host Ball State (6-3) on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. ET tip on B1G+ / AM1460.  
 
On Sunday, arrive early as the Buckeyes will present a ball to Taylor Thierry prior to the game for scoring 1,000 career points. The Buckeyes will be honoring LandOn A Cure and Ability Matters. There will also be a halftime performance by Lineage Dance Company and post-game layups open to all kids.
 
On Tuesday, the Buckeyes will be celebrating pride night as the Columbus Gay Men’s Choir will sing the national anthem. There will also be a girls’ basketball scrimmage at halftime.
 

• Ohio State beat Utah State by an 87-51 margin on Friday, Nov. 29 in its final game at the Daytona Beach Classic. The Buckeye defense forced a season-high 36 turnovers and recorded a season-high 22 steals.
• Ajae Petty was named Daytona Beach Classic MVP and Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday. She also earned a spot on the NCAA.com weekly starting five. Petty led the team by averaging 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, also shooting a team-best 76 percent from the floor last week.
• Against Utah State, Petty led all players with 17 points and nine rebounds. Chance Gray (17) and Jaloni Cambridge (13) also scored in double figures.
• No. 21/21 Illinois enters the matchup with a 7-1 record this season. The Fighting Illini hold wins over then No. 19/19 Florida State, Marquette, Eastern Illinois, Le Moyne, Oregon State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Canisius and fell to then No. 14/16 Kentucky.
• Illinois has six players averaging double figures – Kendall Bostic (16.0), Adalia McKenzie (12.9), Makira Cook (12.7), Jasmine Brown-Hagger (11.2), Genesis Bryant (10.1) and Gretchen Dolan (10.1). Bostic also leads the team with 10.1 rebounds per game.
• Ohio State leads 56-20 in the all-time series with Illinois and is 28-5 when facing the Fighting Illini in Columbus.
• The Buckeyes beat the Illini by a 67-59 margin on the road last season on Jan. 25, 2024 in the teams’ lone meeting of the season. Ohio State faced a 33-22 halftime deficit before outscoring Illinois by eight in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. The Buckeye defense forced 21 Illini turnovers and recorded 10 steals. Cotie McMahon earned a double-double in last season’s meeting with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• Ball State comes to Columbus with a 6-3 record this season. The Cardinals have beaten Old Dominion, IU Indy, Memphis, Northern Iowa, Texas A&M and Davidson and have lost to then No. 16 North Carolina, Columbia and South Dakota State.
• Ball State has five players averaging double figures – Ally Becki (14.4), Lachelle Austin (12.9), Alex Richard (12.3), Madelyn Bishoff (12.2) and Elise Stuck (10.0). Marie Kiefer leads the team on the boards with 6.6 rebounds per game.
• Ohio State leads 4-2 in the all-time series against Ball State and is 2-1 when facing the Cardinals in Columbus.
• This will be the first meeting of the century between Ohio State and Ball State as the teams’ most recently met on Dec. 15, 1996. The Buckeyes earned the 73-51 victory in that meeting in Columbus.

Ohio State women’s basketball tickets for the 2024-25 season are available online as Buckeye Nation continues to make Value City Arena in the Schottenstein Center one of the most exciting venues in the country. The Buckeyes have holideals for multiple winter sports, including women’s basketball, now through the end of the calendar year with the deal applying to specific games throughout the season. View more information about the holideals and purchase tickets HERE.
 
Ticket links:

To have a member of our sales team contact you directly regarding mini plans, group or single game tickets, be sure to click here. For more information, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-(800)-GO-BUCKS or by emailing athletic.tix@osu.edu. Representatives are available via phone Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
 

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