The Ohio State leader hasn’t been afraid to speak her mind, and then some.
Cotie McMahon’s college basketball career got off to an auspicious start. The freshman scored 10 points with two assists, previewing the blistering pace inside the basket and intensity that sums up the forward’s career through now nearly three seasons. Another moment in that game foreshadowed another element of McMahon that Ohio State fans love — McMahon tells you her truth, unabashedly.
On Sunday, it hit a new level.
After defeating a ranked Tennessee side to start the 2022-23 season, McMahon mentioned the referees after picking up four fouls in her NCAA debut.
“This is kind of what happens to us,” said McMahon. “We’re not the most liked with the refs and the Big Ten so we kinda went into the game, the refs weren’t going to be on our side.”
When Ohio State women’s basketball traveled to College Park, it turned into the fiercest edition of the matchup in recent memory. The teams combined for 48 fouls, obviously not on anyone’s side, which isn’t a completely abnormal number of fouls in a game. However, the fouls propelled the game into a different level of intensity.
The Buckeyes had three starters pick up at least four fouls and freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge fouled out early in the fourth quarter after playing only 18 minutes.
In front of a loud crowd on guard Shyanne Sellers’ senior day, every foul against Ohio State was not enough and every whistle against the Terrapins was a crime against basketball. Sellers gave the home crowd a show, doing all she could to make any slight contact into an Oscar-worthy performance only a couple hours before the annual award show began on the other side of the country.
At the end of the first half, the Buckeyes had a one-point lead, but the show wouldn’t start until the third quarter. On a loose ball, Ohio State forward Ajae Petty and Maryland guard Kaylene Smikle went for it, with Smikle getting possession and throwing the ball with some force off Petty to retain possession for the Terps. It was a smart basketball move, although a little bit too much behind it considering the proximity.
Petty was stoic, not responding with any facial expression or words for the Terps junior. However, on the inbound, Petty swatted the ball away on a Maryland layup with force of her own, and added a second that instead hit Maryland forward Christina Dalce. Maryland’s forward hit the basket and earned a whistle but then got into the face of Petty to share her thoughts on the sequence.
As the referees blew a whistle on Dalce, McMahon joined the conversation, using her hands to mimic the official’s motion for a technical with a big “T.” That was the beginning of the roof of the XFINITY Center seemingly coming off as fans got into the game even more.
McMahon picked up her fourth foul four minutes later, prompting forward Allie Kubek to mirror a pushing motion at half court, nearly skipping with joy at the prospect of McMahon being punished.
Towards the end of the game, even a fan in the arena was trying to get the Buckeyes to foul out, screaming from behind the basket to head coach Brenda Frese’s side the numbers of players who had four fouls and to get them out of the game.
The Ohio State forward already isn’t popular to Maryland women’s basketball fans in the know. Last season, in College Park, the forward grabbed late offensive rebounds to pull away for the Buckeyes’ second win over the Terps last season. After the game, McMahon didn’t mince words.
“After getting beat on the boards so many times in a row, I would be worn out too,” said McMahon, referencing the Buckeyes’ hustle as the reason Maryland fell.
Coach Frese referenced that challenge after Maryland dismantled Ohio State in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, out rebounding the Buckeyes by 24 in a 55-31 on their way to an 82-61 upset win over the No. 1 ranked Scarlet and Gray.
Ohio State’s forward is used to not being liked by opposing fans. On Jan. 8, the Michigan Wolverines lost 84-77, a game that McMahon didn’t see as much of a rivalry.
“The fans kind of make it more serious than it needs to be,” said McMahon. “But I mean, hey, go bucks!”
Then the Michigan fans chanted “air ball” after a McMahon miss, and each time she touched the ball for much of the rest of the game. That is until the Buckeyes came back from 16 points down to win. At the final buzzer, McMahon leapt in the air and blew a kiss to the student section.
When McMahon acknowledged the Maryland fans, it was a little less friendly. In overtime, with 14 seconds remaining, McMahon fouled out. As the Terrapin fans sang until McMahon sat down on the bench, the forward got to her seat, sat down and gave Maryland fans a warm response.
McMahon delivered a pair of middle fingers to the Terps faithful. The television production crew caught the incident live on the broadcast and as of publishing, there’s been no word on if there is punishment planned for the junior or Ohio State.
All season, the junior had to answer for a Buckeyes team that looked lackluster in some performances. Against Maryland, there were mistakes but Ohio State kept battling despite a tough crowd on an emotional day for a fan favorite Sellers.
The appropriateness of the response is up to the beholder of the double birds, but will the emotion of McMahon begin to stretch to her teammates in the postseason? Because right now, it can’t only be Cotie McMahon vs. the Big Ten if Ohio State hopes to go deep into the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.