Mar. 5—Big Ten champion Ohio State cleaned up in women’s basketball postseason awards announced Tuesday.
Kevin McGuff was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the first time while guards Jacy Sheldon and Cotie McMahon both made the All-Big Ten first team, and Celeste Taylor was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Joining Taylor on the league’s all-defense team are Sheldon while Taylor and Taylor Thierry earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and Rebeka Mikulasikova picked up honorable mention.
The Buckeyes are 25-3 overall and went 16-2 in Big Ten play, claiming the program’s 18th conference crown. That includes four under McGuff, although the 2017 and ’18 titles were vacated because of NCAA violations by an assistant coach. The Buckeyes also won the league in 2022. McGuff is a Badin High School graduate.
Sheldon, who is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard, ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring (18.2), fourth in steals (2.1), fourth in free throw percentage (.869), sixth in field goal percentage (.513) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
McMahon, a sophomore from Centerville who was Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, is averaging 14.1 points per game and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game this season.
She has five double-doubles and 23 double-figure performances.
Taylor leads the Big Ten in steals per game (2.2) and is eighth in blocks per game (0.9) while averaging 10.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Thierry leads the Buckeyes in field goal percentage (.620) and three-point percentage (.481) while Mikulasikova is averaging 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds.
Iowa‘s Caitlin Clark was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, joining Ohio State stars Kelsey Mitchell (2015-18), Jantel Lavender (2008-2011) and Jessica Davenport (2005-07) as the only three-time winners of the award that began in 1983. (Lavender is the only four-time winner.)
Taylor is the fourth Ohio State winner of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, joining guards Kim Wilburn (2006), Shavelle Little (2008 and ’09) and Amber Stokes (2012).
Ohio State is the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, which is set to tip off Wednesday in Minneapolis, Min.
