Sunday afternoon at the Schottenstein Center was a momentous occasion for Ohio State university fans. It was the 60th birthday celebration for mascot Brutus Buckeye, the nut who captures the hearts of kids and most adults whenever Brutus enters their atmosphere. While most parties feature games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey or Musical Chairs, Sunday the game was basketball and Ohio State women’s basketball made easy work of the Niagara Purple Eagles in a 130-32 victory. The most points scored in the largest margin of victory in program history.
Previously, Ohio State’s most points scored was 119 against Idaho State on Dec. 11, 1994.
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Niagara Falls
The Buckeyes sent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference side home without any party favors, and broke program records in the process. The Buckeyes 45-point lead at halftime is a new program record. It surpassed a 43-point lead for Ohio State over Alabama State on Dec. 16, 2016.
Niagara did not show a second half adjustment to the Buckeyes and Ohio State kept adding onto the MAAC misery. Ohio State’s 80-point victory beat out two 70-point wins to the top of the program record book. A 70-point win over the Akron Zips dated back to February. 22, 1977 until the Buckeyes did it again, against the Ohio Bobcats, on Dec. 1, 2004.
A win of this magnitude could top the list for a long time.
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The margin of difference between the 98-point win and the previous 70-point record is big enough to be the second largest margin of victory for Ohio State this season.
Ava Watson Continues Surge
Over the seven games of the early 2025-26 season, guard Ava Watson’s impact in games has increased. All coming off the bench, Watson had a four-steal game on Wednesday against No. 21 West Virginia and an assist on the shot that gave Ohio State the lead late in the fourth quarter.
On Sunday, Watson nearly had a triple-double for the Buckeyes in 26 minutes. Watson had 15 points, 10 assists and 7 steals in the huge Buckeye blowout. Opponent aside, Watson is contributing on both sides of the court when she gets into games. It is only a matter of time before Watson enters games in bigger moments, should Watson’s current form continue.
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Number of the Game: 19
That is the number of steals for the Buckeyes in the one-sided victory. It marks the most steals in a game so far this season for the Scarlet and Gray. Even though it was not a tough conference opponent by any means, Ohio State showed the ability to time passes and frustrate opponents.
The Purple Eagles’ 43 turnovers did not enter the record books, but came close to making history. Ohio State forced 45 turnovers from High Point University in 1999.
Big Ten Looms
Ohio State’s opponent difficulty level increases a week from Sunday when the Buckeyes head to Evanston, Illinois to face the Northwestern Wildcats. Head coach Joe McKeown is at the start of his 18th and final season with the Wildcats and Northwestern is responding to the extra motivation with a 6-1 record to start the season. The Buckeyes are on a five-game winning streak though against the Wildcats, a program that was once battling near the top of the Big Ten but has only eight wins in-conference over the past three seasons.
After Sunday’s road trip, the Buckeyes have five more nonconference games remaining in the season, until any potential NCAA Tournament berth.
