COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a game of runs for No. 7 Ohio State as the Wisconsin women's basketball team dropped an 87-61 road game to the Buckeyes on Thursday night. The Badgers drop their seventh straight to fall to 6-15 on the season, including 2-9 in Big Ten Conference play.

"We had it to 13 at the halftime but a good team like this is going to find a way to get the ball to the basket," head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "I'm proud of our kids. They didn't quit playing, we just have to hit some open shots."

The Badgers led 10-6 with 4:33 to play in the first period off back-to-back 3-pointers from Dakota Whyte.  Wisconsin also led 12-8 with 2:30 remaining in the quarter before the Buckeyes ended the period on an 11-0 run to lead 19-12 at the end of the first.

Ohio State opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 30-14 lead with 6:49 on the clock. The Buckeyes led by 20 points (38-18) with 4:26 left in the period but UW cut it to 46-33 at the half behind eight points from Cayla McMorris. McMorris finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, one of four Badgers in double figures for the game.

OSU opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 53-33 advantage with 6:46 to play in the third period. The Buckeyes led 65-40 at the end of three quarters and took their largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter at 71-40 with 8:28 left in the game. OSU also led by the same margin at 77-46 with 5:07 to play as Wisconsin pulled within 22 (80-58) with 2:14 on the clock but could get no closer.

Nicole Bauman led UW with 19 points as the senior guard shot 50 percent from the field (7-of-14), including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Whyte and Michala Johnson each added 10 points for Wisconsin.

Ohio State had five players in double figures behind a game-high 21 points for Ameryst Alston. Kelsey Mitchell added 16 points, nearly 10 points below her season average, while Shayla Cooper also added 16 points and picked up a double-double with 10 rebounds.

"You have to pick your poison somewhere," Kelsey said. "They have so many scorers out there. Alston's shot was really going today. They were looking for her, trying to get her going. They're a tough cover. They have a lot of people that can create their own shot."

The Buckeyes shot 47.1 percent (33-of-70) from the field, including 30 percent (9-of-30) from 3-point range. Wisconsin shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the field, including an impressive 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from behind the arc. UW got to the free-throw line 17 times, making 13 for 76. 5 percent while OSU hit 75 percent (12-of-16).

"I thought the kids did some good things out here," said Kelsey. "We got to the free throw line, which is something that we needed to do more of. We also evened up the rebounding a little bit more. They were outrebounding us quite a bit in the first and second quarters."

The Badgers were outrebounded 40-32, led by seven boards from Johnson.

Wisconsin turned the ball over a Big Ten-season high 17 times, with the Buckeyes scoring 21 points off UW giveaways. OSU outscored the Badgers 36-22 in the paint and 25-14 off the bench.

UW returns to action on Monday when it hosts Purdue at 6 p.m. in the Kohl Center. The game airs live on the Big Ten Network.

"It's not too late," Kelsey added. "We have a tough Purdue team coming up next. They play hard, they get after you.

"(Our players were) very positive in the locker room. They're not down on themselves. Some teams would pack it in at this point but our kids are not doing that. They're going to keep fighting, Badgers keep fighting. We're going to get it. We're going to get somebody here."