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No. 14 Ohio State women hold off No. 17 Michigan 81-79

March 3, 2023 GMT

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Michigan guard Maddie Nolan, front right, fouls Ohio State guard Taylor Thierry, left, as Thierry goes for the ball in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big Ten women's tournament Friday, March 3, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Freshman Cotie McMahon had 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in her Big Ten Tournament debut, Taylor Thierry added 20 points and No. 14 Ohio State held off No. 17 Michigan 81-79 on Friday.

Ohio State (24-6) defeated Michigan three times in a season for the first time in program history to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Indiana on Saturday.

McMahon made a steal and fast-break layup to give Ohio State a 74-73 lead with 3:37 left and she added two free throws to make it 76-74.

Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:20 left and McMahon found Taylor Mikesell in transition for an 81-76 lead. Michigan had two chances at a 3-pointer on its next possession and Maddie Nolan rattled one in to get within 81-79 with 47 seconds left.

Ohio State turned it over with 23.7 seconds left. Michigan had several chances, but McMahon made a key block and Leigha Brown was off the mark on a contested shot at the buzzer.

Mikesell finished with 16 points for Ohio State. Sheldon, who played just six games this season due to an injury, scored five points.

Brown had 19 points and nine assists for Michigan (22-9). Nolan finished with 16 points and Emily Kiser had 14 points and nine rebounds.

This was the sixth game of the tournament decided by five points or fewer, setting a tournament record. ___ AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25