Women's Basketball
Buckeye Bench Keys Win Over Nebraska
By John Porentas

Depth can be a very handy thing to have on a basketball team. It came in very handy in No. 18 Ohio State's (9-2) 86-74 win over Nebraska (9-3).

Ohio State starting point guard Shavelle Little had a tough time with Nebraska's full court press and starting forward Star Allen was having problems of her own. Under normal circumstances, that would mean big problems for a basketball team, but OSU Head Coach Jim Foster had options.

Foster went to his bench and brought Maria Moeller in at the point and Tam Riley on the baseline. Moeller ended up logging 36 minutes while the starter, Little, logged just eight. Riley got 23 minutes of floor time, Allen 14. More importantly, Moeller and Riley were extremely effective and turned around a basketball game that didn't start particularly well for the Buckeyes.

Nebraska had a clear advantage in the early going and established a seven point lead at 25-18 with 7:34 remaining in the first half. The Huskers were the beneficiary of nine first half OSU turnovers, three of them by Little and two by Allen, and also had eight offensive rebounds that led to 10 second-chance points in the first half.

With Moeller on the floor the Buckeyes finally solved the Husker pressure to rally from seven down to a one point lead at the half.

"I think we have two very good point guards and that Shavelle played a little too fast," said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster. "Maria played slow, game speed, changed her speeds, knew when to attack, when to pull back. She played a heady game and looked like a veteran point guard," said Foster.

OSU outscored the Huskers 49-38 in the second half thanks largely to effective scoring by Riley on the baseline and timely long-range shooting by Marscilla Packer.

Riley scored 13 points, all in the second half, and Packer scored 18 second half points to go with the five she had before the intermission. Packer was four of seven from three point range in the second half and ended the day as OSU's leading scorer with 23 points. Freshman center Jantel Lavender added 21 points.

"Tam had been playing a little bit too close to the basket," said Foster.

"We talked about it and when she spaces out a little bit away, she's got a lot of stuff in her game. She can use her quickness and she's got a nice little turnaround shot. When she plays too close to the basket she doesn't have all those options. When she's spaced properly she's hard to guard because she can go by you and she can score with either hand, and she played with a nice speed and tempo," said Foster.

A total of 10 Buckeyes saw significant minutes in the game. OSU's bench outscored Nebraska's to the tune of 30-13.

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