The first year Buckeye shot perfectly from deep against Minnesota to earn the first award of her NCAA career
Soon after Ohio State women’s basketball picked up a Monday afternoon overtime win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Big Ten announced their weekly awards, honoring a top player and top freshman of the week. For the first time, Buckeye guard Ava Watson won Freshman of the Week, the second freshman this season to earn the honor for the Scarlet and Gray.
Watson entered Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on a cold streak, scoring six points in the previous eight games. The guard out of Georgia shot 2-of-13 from beyond the arc in that stretch.
Against the Golden Gophers though, Watson showed her potential as a member of Ohio State and came up big to help the Buckeyes beat Minnesota. When the freshman joined the game, the Golden Gophers were on a five-point run and the Buckeyes needed a spark of offense.
“She made shots and she gave us a huge boost in the first quarter,” said head coach Kevin McGuff. “We haven’t been shooting it very well.”
The freshman shooting guard delivered and after missing her first shot, Watson scored the next 11 points for the Buckeyes. Watson scored five points in the second half on another deep three and two free throws, scoring 16 points and eclipsing her previous single game Big Ten scoring high of 15 points against the Northwestern Wildcats back on Jan. 5.
In the victory, Watson went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, her second best deep shooting day of the season after hitting six against the Bowling Green Falcons. However, the four three-point shots made is a conference high for the freshman guard.
However, it wasn’t all good for the freshman and early in the fourth quarter, Watson sprained her ankle. The injury took the guard out of the game, a matchup where the Buckeyes gave up a 14-point lead with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Watson watched from the bench as fellow freshman Elsa Lemmilä and junior forward Cotie McMahon led Ohio State to an overtime victory. In addition, Watson missed Monday’s game against the Iowa Hawkeyes, wearing a boot on her foot.
It’s unclear if Watson will suit up Thursday when the Buckeyes head to Bloomington, Indiana to face the Indiana Hoosiers in the always loud Assembly Hall.
“She’s rehabbing and it’s, it’s not like a long, long term issue,” said McGuff. “I do not know about Thursday yet, but hopefully we can get her back sooner rather than later.”
While it’s the first Freshman of the Week award for Watson, it’s not the first Freshman of the Week honor for a Buckeye this season. Watson’s former AAU teammate Jaloni Cambridge won the award twice, in consecutive weeks in January.
This is the first time since the 2019-20 season that two Buckeyes earned the honor in the same season, with guards Jacy Sheldon, Madison Greene and one-year Buckeye Kierstan Bell winning a combined five Freshman of the Week awards.
McMahon owns the most Freshman of the Week awards in program history, earning the honor six times during the 22-23 season, on her way to the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.