Ohio State left its Feb. 14 loss to Northwestern knowing it had played far from its best.

The Buckeyes were held scoreless until the second half of their eventual 23-7 loss, and even though they were facing one of the best opponents in the country, they knew they were better than what transpired on the field in Evanston.

They spent the next week of practice — even though it was still only the second week of the season — in reset mode. They went back to the drawing board, drilling through 50-50 competition scenarios and making the necessary adjustments to avoid a repeat performance in its next game. Another top-10 opponent was next up on the slate: That Team Up North, No. 9 Michigan.

The week of refueling and retooling, it turned out, paid off. The Buckeyes topped the Wolverines 15-12 on Sunday, the first time they’d beaten their historical rival and a top-10 opponent since 2016.

“We were on a mission to prove to ourselves what we were capable of,” attacker Liza Hernandez said. “It’s easy in a big rivalry game to let your emotions get the best of you, but I feel like we really didn’t let that happen. Our energy and effort was something that never wavered, and I’m just so proud of the way we fought together for the full 60 minutes.”

Hernandez led Ohio State with six goals and 10 draw controls, while goalie Jillian Rizzo made 13 saves, including five in a key 20-minute stretch in the second half.

When Rizzo and Hernandez elected to both return to Columbus for their fifth years, coach Amy Bokker had a message for them. The pressure — of following up on their strong 2020 seasons, during which Hernandez led the team in scoring and Rizzo added to her resume as one of the program’s best-ever goalies — was a privilege.

When their season opener didn’t bring the result they wanted, Hernandez and Rizzo recalled that message in the following week of practice and led the team’s drive to show up for its next game with a new mindset and a new look.

“We made those necessary adjustments, and I feel like this helped us to step out onto the field a whole different team, with so much more belief,” Hernandez said. “With how we came out against Northwestern, we knew that wasn’t us, so we made sure that game fueled us. You could really feel it.”

The Buckeyes’ opening frame this past Sunday was an almost polar opposite to theirs in Evanston. They scored nine goals in the first half, all against a Michigan defense that finished as the Big Ten’s best in the shortened 2020 season.

Hernandez led Ohio State on the draw, guiding her team to a 22-7 advantage on the circle and powering the Buckeyes’ attack in a showing that would earn her a second career Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor.

“Liza encouraged everybody to rise up and play at the next level,” Bokker said. “She’s fighting so hard every minute to get the ball and do her job, so I think that inspires all of her teammates to do the same.”

The win over Michigan was only the program’s fifth ever in 30 Big Ten regular-season games since the conference began in 2015. The Buckeyes didn’t get a chance to play any conference opponents in Bokker’s first season in charge in 2020, so this win felt even sweeter as both an accomplishment in the moment and a motivator going forward.

The conference had an eventful weekend — Ohio State upset the Wolverines, Penn State beat Maryland for the first time since 2005 and Rutgers beat Johns Hopkins for the first time ever. It’s sure to be a unique season, with each team facing a 12-game schedule of only Big Ten opponents.

“This big win over Michigan proved to ourselves that we’re able to compete in this conference,” Hernandez said. “It really brings a big level of expectation for us, and I think our team is excited to embrace that. There’s no days off.”

The Buckeyes head to Rutgers for a pair of games this weekend but will have to face both Northwestern (April 10) and Michigan (April 16) in back-to-back weeks again before the regular season wraps up. They’re ready to make sure that the energy of the last week of practice, and of the weekend’s win, carries forward.

“I told them after the game, ‘Now we’ve seen what you’re capable of,’” Bokker said. “Now we’ve got to sustain that and continue to grow.”