Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Sprint Past Tennessee State
By John Porentas

The biggest challenge Ohio State (2-0) had in their second game of the season was staying focused on the game.

Ohio State scored the first 19 points of the game en route to an easy 88-41 win over Tennessee State. When you're up 19-0, the test is no longer winning, its to keep your head into the game. The Buckeyes were able to pass that test with flying colors.

"We got some quick, easy baskets early and I think except for maybe a five minute blip in the second half our defense stayed intense," said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster.

"We got a little casual at a certain point in the second half, but then we reestablished it," Foster said.

The Buckeyes were able to bury the Lady Tigers early with a combination of pressure defense which force a whopping 27 turnovers and an opportunistic offense that featured the athleticism of freshman center Jantel Lavender. Lavender consistently sprinted the floor and arrived at the offensive end ahead of the Tennessee State defense for easy baskets.

"I thought Jantel really got down the floor and established that we were going to run," Foster said.

Lavender finished with a game-high 23 points and five blocked shots.

"I recognized early in the game that their post players weren't sprinting, they didn't recognize that I was a post player that could run. I just took advantage of the situation," Lavender said.

Lavender provided the scoring punch, but it was the pressure defense on the perimeter that really undid Tennessee State much to the disappointment of Head Coach Tracee Wells.

"I think really we were completely prepared for what would happen but I think once the game got started we had a lot of nervousness about our very first game, but handling that pressure I thought was something my returners were going to do a better job of, but it took us a lot longer to get ourselves under control," said Wells.

For the second-straight game, sophomore point guard Shavelle Little was able to harass an opposing offense effectively. Little finished the game with five steals and helped create turnovers all night.

"She put great pressure on the entire time she was on the floor," said Wells . "Pressuring the basketball is going to win them a lot of games."

OSU led 42-14 at the half and didn't let up after the intermission despite a big lead.

"It can sometimes be tough, but I think that everyone can work on themselves and stay focused in the game," said senior guard Marscilla Packer of OSU's strong second half.

"We wanted to come out and play 40 minutes tonight and play a better second half than we did the other day. That's what we really focused on as a team was keep our intensity."

Packer scored 11 points. She and Lavender were OSU's only double-digit scorers, but the Buckeyes got scoring from all 13 players who appeared in the game.

Of particular note was the shooting of point guard Maria Moeller. Moeller struggled with her shot last season as OSU's starter at the point guard. Last season Moeller shot just 34.2 per cent from the field and 28.8 per cent from three point range. By season's end, she seemed reluctant to shoot and appeared to have lost confidence in her shot. Moeller was a perfect 3 for 3 three from the field against Tennessee State including a three pointer. She was also two for two from the free throw line in scoring nine points.

"She worked very hard on the technique," said Foster.

"Maria consciously worked at it, spent a lot of time this summer. She started the process last year during the season.

"She can put the ball in the basket. She's confident, we want her to take those shots, and she's feeling as though the time invested has made her a better shooter," Foster said.

"She was slingshoting a little bit (last season). Now she's shooting it with more touch, a lot more touch," Foster said.

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