Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Turnover Southern, Run Away to Easy Win
By John Porentas

For the second time in a couple of days, the Buckeyes had a team on the ropes and the score was 14-3.

The football Buckeyes did in rival Michigan by a final score of 14-3 last Saturday, and two days later it was the same score in the Buckeyes' game with Southern University, only this time it was women's basketball and it wasn't the end of the game, it was a timeout called by the Jaguars to try to regroup as the hot-shooting Buckeyes jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead just two minutes and 48 seconds into the game.

After missing their first field goal attempt the Buckeyes connected on four-straight three pointers, two each by Ashlee Trebilcock and Marscilla Packer, then added a fast-break layup to take that 14-3 lead. The Jaguars got the timeout called, but it didn't help much. OSU (4-0) went on to paste Southern (0-2) by a final of 79-38.

OSU's hot shooting continued throughout the game as the Buckeyes shot 50.8 per cent from the field and a torrid 46.7 from three point range, but it was OSU's defense that was really the story of the game.

The Buckeyes forced a whopping 31 turnovers, 21 of them coming on steals, and collected 37 points off those turnovers in outclassing the Jaguars. When the Buckeyes weren't making steals and knocking down shots they were passing the ball with devastating effect. OSU registered 26 assists in making 30 field goals against Southern.

"I think Ohio State did a great job as far as defending us and moving the basketball around and getting a lot of open looks," said Southern assistant coach Carlos Funchess.

"I thought Shavelle (Little) started it with pressure on the ball out front," said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster. "She can be very disruptive."

OSU held a 39-17 lead at the half and opened up a 55-25 lead early in the second half to put the game out of reach.

"The first five minutes of the second half Ohio State did a great job getting the basketball up and down the court," said Funchess. "They did an excellent job of running the court, particularly their baseline players," Funchess added.

Three Buckeyes scored in double figures. Star Allen led all scorers with 17 points, Packer ended up with 16 and Jantel Lavender 11. Both Allen and Lavender beat the Southern defense down the court in offensive transition to help the Buckeyes to 12 fast break points.

"I think understanding that you can get an easy basket when it appears as though the other team is transitioning well, often times you're going to find there are seams and holes if your post players are going to run the floor," said Foster. "Our post players are pretty good at running the floor," Foster said.

Allen also contributed five assists and nine rebounds, Lavender four assists and eight rebounds, while Trebilcock and Packer contributed a game-high six assists each. OSU's Tam Riley led all rebounders with 10.

No players from Southern reached double figures and the Jaguars had nine assists against their 31 turnovers. They shot just 27.8 per cent from the floor. Forward Courtney Scott led the Jaguars with nine points.

Foster played 12 players in the game with most of those players logging double-digit minutes. Foster was pleased to get his younger players on the floor in the blowout win.

"You've got a bunch of young freshmen who are seeing things for the first time in their basketball life," said Foster.

"Those experiences help you get better. Now there's a frame of reference for some of them," said Foster.

"The freshmen are just beginning to understand what a gap is in a zone, so it was good for us to have to play against that all night.

"That's how young players get experience. Star (Allen) and Shavelle (Little), when they were freshmen were in the same situation, and Packer was happy to be Caity Matter's caddy," quipped Foster drawing a laugh.

Box Score

Game Photos

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