I was at the game today and I was worried after the start. OSU was cold and Rutgers was playing well. It took a few minutes for Mitchell to take her first shot of the game. Asia Doss really helped get OSU started with some good defense and a three. I didn't realize how many shots Mitchell had taken until I saw the box score, a lot of her misses some from driving to the basket and trying to get a foul and shooting a tough shot. She wasn't chucking them from outside as much as she did in the Maryland game. Lisa Blair was someone who really helped OSU get their lead, with Hart out with foul trouble she came in and provided some good minutes and contributed a lot in defense and rebounds. You could tell that was a point of emphasis in practice this week after the Maryland game. Seeing Mitchell in person is different from on the tv. She is phenomenal. Has a very quick change of pace and is a good one on one offensive player. She needs to work on her Defense but I think that will come in time? She is always looking to create and is a very competent passer. Cooper is a quality contributor to the team with her aggressiveness and rebounding, but can get caught up in emotions in the heat of the game and gets some fouls. Hart is thin. She looked to have some trouble going against Hollivay and Butts because they are solid frames but she's very agile and a quality shot-blocker.
Doss and Craft's defense were causing issues for some Rutgers players in that they were actually getting visually frustrating and yelling at each other. Laney was the only player who actually looked ready to play today. Scaife was a non-factor until Mitchell went out for the game, which really disappointed me because I wanted to see her play. Davis and Hernandez got into a bit of an argument during a timeout after Hernandez made a three. Not sure what about. So, I think Rutger's may have beat themselves after being down by double digits and never really gave themselves a chance to get back into it.
Ohio State will be a good team once they get their "team" back. But they are weak on the interior and any team with a quality post player will be able to beat them, but their guards will be a challenge for most teams.
