January 19, 2023

Zero waste goals have become a top priority at football stadiums across the Big Ten, but Ohio Stadium’s approach to processing its recycling is novel among its peers.

BRODY SERRAVALLI Lantern reporter serravalli.1@osu.edu

It’s game day in Columbus and just over 104,000 Buckeyes fans are packed into Ohio Stadium to watch the Buckeyes take on Iowa.

With just 3 1/2 minutes until halftime, fourth-year linebacker Tommy Eichenberg intercepts Iowa fifth-year senior quarterback Spencer Petras’ pass and returns it for a touchdown. The stadium ground shakes as a roar erupts from the stands, with the Buckeyes building toward a 54-10 victory.

Thirty miles away, the noise rattles out of the built-in speakers of a communal television. Kevin Matthews sits on his bed at the London Correctional Institution watching the game with his fellow inmates.

While everyone’s eyes are fixated on the play, Matthews — serving a three-year sentence on an assault and two firearms convictions — can’t help but focus on the fans in the background.

He knows by the time the second half is over, the sellout crowd will have produced up to 30,000 pounds of trash — or at least that was his best guess when his supervisor took predictions earlier that day, Oct. 22, 2022.

“It’s hard not to notice stuff like that once you’ve been out here,” Matthews said.

Around 30,000 pounds of trash are estimated to fill the stands of the Ohio Stadium on game day.

What most people don’t know is Matthews and the tight-knit group of inmates he works with are the MVPs of Ohio Stadium’s recycling program.

Each time fans throw cans, cups, trays and plastic food wrappers in the ‘Shoe, whether on the ground or at one of the 75-plus zero waste stations throughout the stadium, it lands in the hands of a prison worker like Matthews.

Since 2012, up to 1,000 tons of compost and recycling waste has been hauled from Ohio Stadium to a prison facility in central Ohio as part of the university’s ongoing partnership with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

At this facility, inmates are tasked with sorting waste before it is packed and shipped to manufacturers across the state for repurposing.

An investigation by The Lantern found Ohio State is the only public school in the Big Ten to employ prison labor to recycle football game waste.

Waste in the Big Ten

Information obtained from the 13 public universities in the conference shows the majority of these institutions send their stadium waste to private companies for sorting.

The rest rely on either local county material recovery facilities or facilities owned and operated by the universities themselves.

At Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium, game day waste is taken to the MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center, a material recovery facility the university operates in-house.

At Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, recycling is hauled to the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority to be processed by county employees.

The student voice of the Ohio State University

BRODY SERRAVALLI FOR THE LANTERN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

At Indiana’s Memorial Stadium, recycling duties are contracted to Republic Services, one of the U.S.’s biggest private waste hauling and recycling companies.

Northwestern, the only private university in the conference, did not respond to requests for information about stadium recycling.

However, Ohio State’s long-standing use of prison labor has proven controversial among the student body.

Marina DeNunzio, director of sustainability for Undergraduate Student Government and a second-year in history, said she is conflicted about the university’s continued partnership with the ODRC because it doesn’t align with the ideals of environmental justice and advocacy

“As an advocate for a more sustainable campus, I want to be excited about our increasing diversion rate,” DeNunzio said. “But being the only Big Ten school that decided to use prison labor for waste diversion is terrible.”

One of the biggest issues was how little inmates, like Matthews, were paid to sort game day garbage. The $1.10 hourly wage inspired objections from civil rights advocates, who argued the prisoners were

being exploited as recently as 2020.

Many of these objections appear to have been wiped away by a summer 2021 decision by OPI that required Ohio State — and any other contractor — pay the state-mandated minimum wage. As of Jan. 1, that rate is $10.10 an hour.

Ann King, chief of OPI within the state’s prison system, said it’s fair to require this level of pay for inmates because it’s likely the same amount someone working outside prison walls would receive.

University spokesperson Ben Johnson said in an email the new arrangement ensures the partnership continues to align with the university’s values.

“Ohio State is committed to ensuring this relationship and program is positive for all involved parties and meets weekly with Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction/Ohio Penal Industries to discuss status updates and address any issues,” Johnson said.

Dirty work

All inmates in the recycling program apply, and the process is fiercely competitive.

Brian Ryan, the penal workshop specialist at OPI, said he interviews countless inmates, many of whom are recommended

by existing crew members.

The work primarily takes place in a barn just outside the fence at the London Correctional Institution. Because the program involves leaving the confines of the prison, only low-risk, level one inmates — called “tans”— are permitted to participate.

The inmates work approximately 6 1/2 hours a day, five days a week, sorting through the trash received from Ohio Stadium. The majority of the sorting takes place at tables where inmates separate cardboard, aluminum, plastic, metal and glass into individual bins to be packed and shipped to manufacturers for repurposing.

While certain materials, like aluminum wrappers and contaminated food packaging, cannot be recycled, the primary goal is to ensure as little waste goes to landfill as possible.

“We’ll bury a mouse, so we don’t have to throw it away,” Chelsey Stillings, a regional industry manager at Ohio Penal Industries, said.

More recycling, lower costs

Due to the materials the inmates sort being sold for profit, the ODRC does not charge Ohio State a tipping fee for its stadium recycling waste. Composting, on the other hand, costs the university $40 per ton.

For the past seven years, Ohio Stadium’s 90 percent diversion rate — the amount of garbage kept from landfills — has ranked first in the Big Ten.

Ohio Penal Industries credits this success to the program’s use of hand sorting. While other operations rely on semiautomated systems to sort materials, Ohio State’s partnership with the ODRC means recycling waste from Ohio Stadium is sorted by hand for a fraction of the cost.

By comparison, the University of Michigan has a 74 percent diversion rate and pays $45 per ton to have its waste recycled, in agreement with a nonprofit recycling program run through several Washtenaw County communities.

Alison Richardson, program manager for the office of campus sustainability at Michigan, said the university’s approach to zero waste is fairly uniform between the campus and stadium.

BRODY SERRAVALLI FOR THE LANTERN

London Correctional Institution inmate Gabriel Kaule uses a bobcat to flatten bags of food waste, so that they can be run through a grinder and turned into compost.

BRODY SERRAVALLI FOR THE LANTERN

The remnants of an Ohio State football program in a compost bag at London Correctional Institution.

The price of zero waste

Student pushback against the program included an online petition in 2020 demanding the university end its partnership with the ODRC, garnering over 8,000 signatures.

Among concerns about pay, petitionsigning students were concerned the practice was racially discriminatory, given the disproportionately high levels of incarceration among African Americans.

University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email the University Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities formed a Zero Waste Subcommittee in summer 2020 in response to the mounting pressure on campus.

“The review was initiated after the administration received questions from the student body about Ohio State’s use of incarcerated labor,” Booker said.

A year later, the subcommittee filed its report. While it had “considered cancellation of the program based on the dollar wage alone,” it ultimately decided to recommend continuation due to the program’s potential to “positively affect” inmates.

The subcommittee made recommendations to improve the program for participants — including providing opportunities to earn training and certifications, creating tangible connections to the university and tracking outcomes for participants.

Gary Daniels, a chief lobbyist at American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said reforms such as these — and higher pay — can go a long way toward improving the quality of prison labor programs.

“Prison labor in and of itself is not a bad idea, as long as it’s done a certain way,” Daniels said. “If you’re taking people and teaching them, or improving skills that they already have and making it easier for them to get professional licenses and things of that nature — that’s sort of making lemonade out of lemons.”

Daniels said providing these benefits does not compensate for inadequate wages. He said he remains concerned inmates who don’t work for Ohio State or another outside party are still paid much less per hour.

“You can do all of that and still pay people,” Daniels said. “If they’re doing the same type of work in the same type of jobs inside prison, they should be getting paid and enjoying the same employment protections that people enjoy outside of prison.”

King said the same state statutes allowing OPI to raise third-party wages also require the program to pay workers using revenue generated by the operation rather than taxpayer funds. This is the reason wages are typically so low for incarcerated workers, King said.

“I would love to pay all 1,200 people $10 an hour, but we’re not going to be sustainable if we do that,” King said. “But we can certainly require people we’re doing work for to pay them that wage.”

life changing in prison.

“You can tell your family ‘I’m good.’ And I mean, that’s a big weight off your shoulders,” Lenny May, an inmate in the program serving 10 years for aggravated robbery and felony assault, said. “You can even send them money to help.”

Daniels said though improvements to compensation and benefits may not wipe away all the flaws in the criminal justice system, any improvements to material conditions for incarcerated individuals should be welcomed.

Cassidy Jenney, the ODRC’s energy conservation and sustainability administrator, said her goal was to ensure inmates are able to leave London Correctional Institution with practical skills.

“Something that excites me is that this is not a dying industry,” Jenney said. “More and more jobs are coming to fruition in the green jobs space. So for me, that’s really exciting, because it’s not like ‘maybe there’s not going to be opportunities’ — there’s always going to be opportunities.”

For critics of the program, like DeNunzio, there is no simple solution to Ohio Stadium’s reliance on prison labor.

ability on campus and the amount of waste our football games produce,” DeNunzio said. “Should the university have started using prison labor when this program initially began? No. But the usage of prison labor at the university and in the state of Ohio won’t go away overnight, so completely dismantling the program hurts its participants.”

With another football season in the books, Matthews can finally take his eyes off crowds at Ohio Stadium and focus on his impending release Feb 1.

“I was worried about, when I get out, will I be able to do eight-hour shifts? Will I be able to do 12-hour shifts and not give up?” Matthews said. “Being out here for seven hours-plus every day has got me back into working and getting used to mingling with different people. We’ve been on that scheduling routine. I can get out of here and have an opportunity to make some money, to have a launch path when I get out.”

Plastic waste is packed into cubes with a baler and loaded onto pallets to be shipped to manufacturers for repurposing.

Inmates involved in the program said any extra income they can get their hands on is

“It’s really complicated and hard to grapple with as a student who cares about sustain-

Check out the full story on our website (thelantern.com).

BRODY SERRAVALLI | FOR THE LANTERN London Correctional Institution inmates Lenny May (left) and Joshua Berger (right) plan out the day’s duties in the work barn as part of Ohio State’s zero waste initiative.

BRODY SERRAVALLI | FOR THE LANTERN

ARTS&LIFE

Create, connect and explore at Columbus Museum of Art’s Wonder Room

FRANCES DENMAN Lantern reporter denman.84@osu.edu

The Columbus Museum of Art’s fourth version of its Wonder Room is an ongoing abstract art exhibition that stimulates social, ecological and creative connections in new ways.

Located at 480 E. Broad St. and open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays until 9 p.m., the Wonder Room is an opportunity for visitors of all ages to engage with family, friends and other art-loving guests for no additional cost, according to its website. The Wonder Room’s current interactive installation includes themes of nature, exploration and imagination, Manager of Interpretation and Engagement Hannah Mason-Macklin said.

“The driving force behind the Wonder Room is, of course, wonder. How wonder and awe can spark creativity,” Mason-Macklin said.

Mason-Macklin said the exploration and expansion of one’s perspectives can achieve creativity.

“It can be fostered through play and through experimentation and we felt like the Wonder Room is such an important space to replicate these scenarios, where visitors and staff can tap into these creative skills,” Mason-Macklin said.

Artist and Wonder Room contributor Dana Lynn Harper adds to the Wonder Room’s interactive and otherworldly aesthetic with her employment of installations that allow the body to fit inside the structure.

Harper said her work is inspired by her childhood and the imagination that stems from childlike curiosity. She said a lack of a sense of belonging throughout her childhood and into her adulthood now drives her creative process.

“There’s this seeking to create a new space in which everyone can find a sense of belonging and where maybe I’m trying to create a new world so that I can feel like I belong a little bit more,” Harper said.

Harper manipulates materials like flagging tape, acrylic sheets and other elements that become unrecognizable within her finished pieces.

“I like to make spaces that create a sense of wonder and joy for the viewer, to kind of take them out of their everyday experiences and to give them something new,” Harper said.

Unconventional skills, such as these, are

appreciated and used by Mason-Macklin and the Wonder Room team.

Mason-Macklin said an extended label allows the Wonder Room to delve into topics surrounding animal endangerment and habitats as well as nature and our ecosystem, all of which tie into themes of sharing space.

Get your goth on: read how “Wednesday” has revived the goth look.

COURTESY OF KATIE DIKE

CMA’s Wonder Room installations featuring Dana Lynn Harper’s “Cloud Buddies.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

“The permanent collection works of art in this space — they fall within a few different categories,” Mason-Macklin said. “Most of them are placed in there to help contribute to this narrative of oasis, exploration of new spaces, imaginative worlds, close-looking and curiosity as well as shelter and thinking about our environment, how we participate in that.”

Naturalistic aspects incorporated into the space create a relaxing atmosphere, Mason-Macklin said. A sound installation — complete with singing birds, trickling waterfalls and other calming noises — was designed by Wonder Room artists to represent the passing of a peaceful day in nature.

Many of Harper’s pieces displayed in the Wonder Room involve natural elements. Harper describes one of her new works, “Rainwall,” as an installation of acrylic raindrops and handmade rainbow vinyl. Harper also designed and crafted “Cloud Buddies,” bulbous forms with legs

attached to animalistic polka-dot figures. “Cloud Buddies” are big enough for enthusiastic children to sit on and climb.

Throughout the exhibition, “connectors” help produce relationships between visitors and the artwork, Mason-Macklin said. These consist of activities within the installations, such as free-form fort building, in which visitors have complete access to the Wonder Room space to build installations from magnetic cushions, silk blankets and connecting rods.

“The idea, like I mentioned before, is to think about what a safe shelter means to you, but then we also have limited materials, and it’s a shared space, so you’re going to have to work with other people to create something,” Mason-Macklin said.

“And that has produced some really interesting forts but also just really interesting dynamics that I’ve seen from visitors playing with each other when they’re from different social groups.”

Art in the Wonder Room is displayed in unconventional ways, and Mason-Macklin said while some art hangs traditionally, most exhibits incorporate elements —

such as waterfalls or perches. Visitors can even touch certain displays, she said.

“We have a work of art, it’s depicting an otter, and we’re encouraging visitors to gently touch — to engage — with this animal essentially, and asking them ‘How else do they show friendship to animals around them?’” Mason-Macklin said.

Those who are seeking an unexpected, social and memory-making art experience and who appreciate different ways of interpreting art will enjoy the Wonder Room and the rarities it has to offer, Mason-Macklin said.

Harper said the Wonder Room team encourages artists to reach their full potential in creating — and sharing — abstract art.

“They were interested in not just making the project come to life but supporting the artist that they’re bringing in to make that possible and allowing the artist’s work to really sing and to really exist in the way that it’s supposed to exist,” Harper said.

THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

The Lantern is a student publication that is part of the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. It publishes issues Tuesday and Thursday, and online editions every day. The Lantern’s daily operations are funded through advertising and its academic pursuits are supported by the School of Communication. The School of Communication is committed to the highest professional standards for the newspaper in order to guarantee the fullest educational benefits from The Lantern experience.

Editor in Chief Jessica Langer

Managing Editor for Content Aubrey Wright

Managing Editor for Design Athena Markowski

Managing Editor for Digital Content Christian Harsa

Copy Chief Will Ware

Assistant Campus Editor Gaurav Law

Assistant Campus Editor Madison Kinner

LTV Campus Director Becca Duncan

Sports Editor Jacob Benge

Assistant Sports Editor Steven Kishpaugh

LTV Sports Director Casey Smith

Assistant Sports Director Gabe Burggraf

Arts & Life Editor Phoebe Helms

Assistant Arts & Life Editor Brett Price

LTV Arts & Life Director Molly Goheen

Photo Editor Zachary Rilley

Assistant Photo Editor Katie Good

Design Editor Abby Fricke

Social Media Editor Tyrik Hutchinson-Junior

Special Projects Producer Celia Andrews

Oller Reporter Tom Hanks

Miller Reporter Arianna Smith

Dressing to kill: How and why Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ continues to encourage a goth resurrection

LUCY LAWLER Lantern reporter lawler.129@osu.edu

In addition to being creepy and kooky, Wednesday Addams is now undeniably a la mode.

“Wednesday,” which premiered on Netflix in November 2022, is an eight-episode “Addams Family” spinoff series directed by Tim Burton. The show follows a teenage Wednesday (Jenna Ortega), still as gruesome as ever. Forcibly enrolled in Nevermore Academy, the boarding school where her parents met, Wednesday is swiftly embroiled in mystery and interpersonal conflict.

The show was met with a positive reception, watched for over 341 million hours on its opening week, according to Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV (English) list. Since then, “Wednesday” has remained on the list for eight-consecutive weeks. A swift renewal for a second season was announced Jan. 6, though its exact premiere date is unknown at the time of publication.

In an ironic twist, Wednesday — characterized as someone who rejects popular opinion — has become an “it girl,” especially when it comes to her goth-inspired wardrobe.

The goth style possesses a rich and compelling history, Wendy Goldstein, a senior lecturer at Ohio State, said. Goldstein, who currently teaches the course “Twentieth Century Fashion and Beyond,” said goth originated as a musical subculture in 1970s England. She said bands — such as Bauhaus, which pioneered goth rock with its 1979 release of the song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” — enabled the genre to evolve out of the punk rock movement.

Codified in nature, goth rock grew to be characterized by shameless melancholia, breaking away from punk’s angry reputa tion to acquire its own aesthetic, Goldstein said.

“Goth rock became a combination of fashion, music and lifestyle affiliated with the darkest aesthetics of the Gothic time period,” Goldstein said. “The look that they picked up was from Queen Victoria, who was dressed in black and in mourning most of her life.”

Because mainstream fashion is circling back to the 1990s, Goldstein said “Wednesday” contains traces of the decade’s goth flavor. In particular, she said the Prada Monolith combat boots worn by Ortega as Wednesday echo a ‘90s love for chunky footwear.

Tight-fitting pants, oversized tees, kneehigh socks, statement collars, large headbands, pleated skirts and bejeweled dresses are a handful of modern gothic staples that align with ‘90s trends, Goldstein said. An all-black color palette is standard but not mandated, she said.

All gothic looks featured in “Wednesday” reflect past gothic fashions in some shape or form, Marlise Schoeny, a history curator at the Ohio History Connection, said.

“Every time you have a revival, it doesn’t go back to the original source material, but actually tends to go back and look at the last revival,” Schoeny said.

Beyond nostalgia, Schoeny said it’s possible viewers feel drawn to Wednesday’s attire because they wish to emulate the character’s tenacity.

“[Wednesday] speaks to a lot of what each of us is really trying to achieve, which is that sort of independent, self-assured kind of mentality,” Schoeny said. “Putting on clothing at some point is like putting on a suit of armor.”

Shreya Mishra, a third-year in environment, economy, development and sus-

tainability as well as co-president of Ohio State’s Fashion Production Association, said discovering one’s personal style is integral to identity development. She said social media speeds up trend cycles, making reckless shopping easier.

“People want to fit into a certain category and then they buy everything that they think will allow them to fit into that category,” Mishra said. “It’s really important to find your own true style.”

Even though goth is having a moment in the sun, nothing lasts forever, Goldstein said. In this day and age, what is “in” could be “out” sooner than expected, she said.

“The Wednesday-mania might be another six months before the next, current culture takes on,” Goldstein said. “It used to be that fashion changed every 100 years.”

VLAD CIOPLEA/NETFLIX VIA TNS

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in “Wednesday.”

Women’s Ice Hockey: No. 1 Buckeyes ‘gelling at the perfect

time’

at midpoint of season

Head coach Nadine Muzerall guided Ohio State to its first NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey national championship in program history a season ago. Now in her seventh season at the helm, Muzerall’s coaching philosophy shines through the team’s culture now that the Buckeyes are atop the women’s ice hockey ranks.

“You can’t go in nervous. You got to go in with a swag. You got to go in with a chip on your shoulder,” Muzerall said. “At the end of the day, we’re No. 1, right? And they’re trying to beat us. But at the same time, we got to defend that.”

Ohio State is tied for second in the WCHA behind an average of 4.46 goals scored per game, and also ranks third in fewest goals allowed per game at a rate of 1.71.

Jaques, the 2022 WCHA Defender of the Year and a finalist for women’s ice hockey’s top honor in The Patty Kazmaier Award last season, said the team’s familiarity with one another is a strength and will help them in big moments, like when it led to a goal such as her game-winner Friday.

“I think experience definitely is something, but I think it’s more just about how well we know each other as players, and that’s come from the experience we have together,” Jaques said.

Levis said the sweep against the Badgers is an example of more than just two wins in the middle of the season.

The Ohio State women’s ice hockey team remains No. 1 and will look to repeat as national champions.

JACOB BENGE Sports Editor

benge.30@osu.edu

During Friday’s ice hockey game between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 8 Wisconsin, the crowd inside OSU Ice Rink looked on as the top-10 matchup was sent to overtime.

About 680 fans were in attendance as the Buckeyes met the Badgers, who once ranked No. 2 before losing their three contests prior to the series. It marked the first meeting between the two since the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Faceoff Semifinals last season.

Wisconsin held a 1-0 lead after the first period, but junior forward Jenna Buglioni helped the Buckeyes knot the score on her 11th goal of the season in the middle frame. The two teams went back and forth to the final minute of regulation, as graduate defenseman Sophie Jaques had Ohio State’s final regulation shot saved with 20 seconds remaining.

Using extra time in the first game of the

latest series clash with the Badgers, Ohio State notched its first comeback win of the season as a goal by Jaques led to a 2-1 win in the overtime period.

“I don’t remember the last time I’ve played where it’s hard to hear yourself think almost, and the band was going and the Block ‘O’ behind me was going both periods, and it was standing room [only] out there,” senior goaltender Raygan Kirk said. “I think that really helped fuel us, and even after we were down, it didn’t really feel like that.”

The Buckeyes completed the series sweep and extended their winning streak to six Saturday, thanks to a 5-0 shutout from junior goaltender Amanda Thiele and a hat trick by graduate forward Paetyn Levis.

Since slipping to No. 2 on Oct. 31, 2022, for three weeks and beginning the season 20-2-2, and tallying 46 points — one less than first-place No. 3 Minnesota — the defending national champion Buckeyes are on course to return to the postseason and defend their crown.

Thiele has garnered the most minutes in net for the Buckeyes this season, playing in 12 games and allowing 1.98 goals per game while saving 89.2 percent of shots which rank sixth and No. 11 in the WCHA.

Kirk, who’s appeared in nine games, and senior goaltender Quinn Kuntz held down duties near the net across four games from Dec. 18, 2022, to Jan. 13. Ohio State allowed just two goals while scoring 21 in that span, and Thiele got back on the ice Saturday and recorded her third shutout.

Thiele said her teammates helped in her return to the rink, saying “it was huge” to play together in a loud home environment against a formidable opponent.

“They built my confidence and then I just went from there. Didn’t get many shots from a great team like that,” Thiele said. “I think it’s a great start for the second half of the season.”

Ohio State’s second half of the season will consist of road series at No. 3 Minnesota Feb. 3-4 and a rematch at the Badgers Feb. 18-19 before the postseason begins.

“I think it shows a lot of confidence in our teammates, and I think we’re gelling at the perfect time,” Levis said. “For us to just keep rolling as a team and putting all the pieces together, I don’t think it could go better but I think that was a huge confidence [boost], sweep against Wisconsin to come into the second half strong.”

Since Muzerall was named head coach in 2016, she’s taken the Buckeyes to the Frozen Four and NCAA Tournament, both of which Ohio State hadn’t been to previously. It’s on the familiar path that’s led to national postseason berths in three-consecutive and four total seasons.

The Buckeyes latest sweep shows taking the title from the defending champion won’t be easy.

“I’m very proud of them, they’ve worked hard,” Muzerall said. “They were rewarded for their unified chemistry that they play together. They don’t care about who gets the recognition or puts the puck in the net — they just want to win.”

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST www.thelantern. com/email

ZACHARY RILLEY | PHOTO EDITOR

Women’s Basketball: No. 2 Ohio State, behind highest ranking in program history, prepares for Northwestern

JAYLA VANHORN Lantern reporter vanhorn.110@osu.edu

Entering the 2022-23 season, the No. 2 Buckeyes never imagined what their record would look like 18 games in. After injuries to leaders, such as guards senior Jacy Sheldon and redshirt junior Madison Greene, the odds were stacked against them.

Fast-forward to Monday, the Buckeyes are sitting at their highest ranking in program history, as they moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 after Stanford, now No. 4, lost Sunday to USC.

The Buckeyes (18-0, 7-0 Big Ten) look to continue climbing up the rankings as they take on Northwestern (6-11, 0-7 Big Ten) Thursday at the Schottenstein Center.

“Honestly, the season is going really well so far. This moment means a lot, not only to me but obviously to my teammates,” sophomore guard Taylor Thierry said. “It just shows that we’ve worked so hard this season, and it’s kind of showing the results that we want.”

The Buckeyes are coming off a wire-towire win Saturday against Nebraska, in which Cornhuskers head coach Amy Williams comes off her 300th-career win. Senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, which earned her a spot on Tuesday’s Big Ten weekly honor roll.

This is her sixth 20-point game of the season, and she’s averaging 14.4 points per game, nearly five points higher than her season average of 9.4 last year.

Head coach Kevin McGuff said Tuesday the team would not have won without Mikulasikova’s scoring, particularly the balance at which she scored, with her shots coming from both inside and outside the perimeter.

“She’s a great player. She’s a great fit in our system,” McGuff said. “One of the things that make us unique is the space that we play with on offense, and you can only do that when you have a center who can play on the perimeter as effectively as Rebeka does.”

The Buckeyes pulled out the win at Pinnacle Bank Arena despite turning the ball over 18 times, which led to 21 points for the Huskers. Senior guard Taylor Mikesell had a career-high eight turnovers to finish the game.

“We had way too many turnovers that led to baskets,” McGuff said. “We just had stretches where we were really good on offense, but we had some stretches where we were sloppy, and our execution was poor. Probably over-dribbling and not making the extra pass was a problem.”

Northwestern is looking to get the ball rolling, after coming off a tough 65-54 home loss against Purdue Saturday. After cutting a double-digit deficit down to six, the Wildcats went cold in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-for-17 from the field and 1-for6 from 3.

This marked Northwestern’s fifth-consecutive loss, dating back to the Dec. 28 matchup against the Buckeyes.

“I think it’s going to be really important on

how we can execute on the offensive end. They play one of the best young defenses in the country,” McGuff said. “If you’re not really locked in and focused on executing then you’ll see those turnovers and poor shots. So, our offensive and execution is going to have to be at a high level.”

Despite the five-game slump, the emergence of sophomore forward Caileigh Walsh has been a bright spot for Northwestern. The 6-foot-3 big is averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, both of which lead the team.

The battle between Walsh and Mikulasikova will be a key matchup to look out for during Thursday’s game, as both forwards are coming off scoring double-digits.

In the earlier matchup this season, freshman guard Cotie McMahon led all scorers with 24 points as the Buckeyes cruised to a 33-point win. The Buckeyes are looking for

the freshman star to make an impact early on, as she got caught in early foul trouble during Saturday’s game.

“Obviously it sucks to be on the bench with four fouls, but at that moment it’s not about the four fouls or you,” McMahon said. “It’s who’s coming in for you and making that next impact so that we can carry on from those mistakes and kind of continue to keep the lead and to end up getting the win.”

The Buckeyes aim to continue their undefeated season as they return home for the 11th time this season in front of what is expected to be a packed crowd.

“Our fans have been outstanding, and it’s been really fun to see the environment that we’ve created here at the Schott,” McGuff said. “I think it’s turned into one of the toughest places to play in the country because our fans are just so great.”

Read how the women’s ice hockey team has clicked and is on its way to defending its national championship.

ZACHARY RILLEY PHOTO EDITOR

The No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball team (18-0) takes on Northwestern (6-11) in Columbus on Thursday.