McMahon's late free throws lift No. 13 Ohio State past Iowa, 60-59 in Big Ten quarterfinals

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Cotie McMahon converted two free throws with six seconds left to give 13th-ranked and third-seeded Ohio State a 60-59 win over Iowa Friday night to advance to Saturday's semifinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Buckeyes (24-5) will battle second-seeded and No. 4-ranked UCLA, an 85-74 winner over Nebraska. Ohio State lost at then-No. 1-ranked UCLA during the regular season, 65-52.

McMahon hit the first of two free throws with 3:04 left to give the Buckeyes a five-point lead, but Sydney Affolter knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Hawkeyes in front, 59-58 with 1:18 left.

Ohio State turned the ball over with 48 seconds left, but Kylie Feuerbach missed from behind the arc and Taylor Thierry got the rebound and, after a timeout, McMahon drew the foul and hit both free throws. Affolter got the ball on the left wing and drove the baseline for a contested layup with a second left that did not fall and the Hawkeyes maintained possession and in-bounded the ball with 0.7 seconds left. Hannah Stuelke got a hurried shot off but it did not fall as time expired.

McMahon scored six of Ohio State's final nine points and finished with 18 points, going 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. Thierry scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and collected five steals. Ajae Petty pulled down 12 rebounds.

Iowa had won the previous three Big Ten Tournament titles. Stuelke, Affolter and Lucy Olsen each scored 14 points to lead the Hawkeyes (22-10) and Ava Heiden added 10 points off the bench.

The loss snapped Iowa's 11-game Big Ten Tournament win streak

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball