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Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Oust Badgers Behind Prahalis and Lavender
By Tony GerdemanThey say big-time players step up in big-time games, and on Saturday night, the two biggest Buckeyes stepped up for their team. Point guard Samantha Prahalis and center Jantel Lavender combined to score 56 points as #10 Ohio State (29-4, 15-3 Big Ten) defeated Wisconsin (21-10, 10-8 Big Ten) 82-73 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Jantel Lavender lines up a free throw. OSU converted on 34 of 38 free throw attempts to down the Badgers.
Photo by Jim DavidsonNot to be outdone by Ohio State’s two shining stars, however, Wisconsin guard Alyssa Karel proved herself equal to anything the Buckeyes could throw at her. She finished with 31 points on the night, making all five of her three-point attempts, and finishing 10-15 from the field overall.
The Badgers led Ohio State 41-37 at the half. thanks in large part to 14 first-half points from Karel and foul problems for Lavender who spent considerable time on the bench with two fouls.
In the second half, however, the Buckeyes’ came out with a renewed effort to get the ball into the paint and force the issue. That renewed effort--along with some Wisconsin fouls--saw Ohio State shoot 28 free throws in the second half, making 26.
Lavender finished with 27 points, 19 of them in the second half. She also finished 9-10 from the free throw line in the second half. Prahalis also turned it up a few notches after the half, scoring 18 of her 29 in the final 20 minutes, including all eleven of her free throws.
The Buckeye attack featured more than just Prahalis and Lavender. Freshman guard Tayler Hill scored 15 points due to her aggressive drives and free throw shooting.
Freshman guard Tayler Hill drives against the Badgers.
Photo by Jim DavidsonWisconsin took the lead 69-67 on an Karel's three-pointer with 6:47 remaining in the game. That turned out to be the Badgers’ final field goal.
The Buckeye offense was clicking, but Ohio State neded some stops on defense late in the game - and they got them. The key to the defensive effort was clear, stop Karel, and they did.
“They were playing tough ‘D’”, Karel said.
“I felt in the last four or five minutes of the game, I was running off of a lot of screens, trying to get open, but they were just kind of face-guarding me, playing really great ‘D’. So they made it tough for me.”
The Buckeyes closed the game out on an 18-6 run that was highlighted by 12 of 12 shooting from the free throw line.
Though she had a tremendous game, Karel said she would have given every last one of her 31 points back for a victory.
“Sometimes the ball drops, and sometimes it doesn’t”, she said. “Tonight, I guess it was dropping for me. But I give a ton of credit to my team. They were giving me the ball when I was open. But agan, I would give it all back for a win tonight. “
Reflecting on the impact of his two stars, Buckeye Head Coach Jim Foster talked about what it means for his team when both Lavender and Prahalis are clicking at the same time.
“It makes it a hard team to guard”, he explained.
Samantha Prahalis lets her emotion show during OSU's win over Wisconsin.
Photo by Jim Davidson“I think one of the things that this team has done all season long, we really get to the foul line. It’s always something that we strive for. But the ability to take the ball to the basket and get fouled, and to be strong in the post and get fouled, it’s something that we preach and we have a bunch of players who are able to do that.”
Wisconsin Head Coach Lisa Stone echoed those sentiments, but didn‘t stop at just Prahalis and Lavender.
“Certainly, Sam is great. Jantel is great. And Tayler Hill. Don’t forget about Brittany Johnson and Sarah Schulze, and the five more off the bench. They’re pretty good.”
But it wasn’t just depth that won this game for the Buckeyes, it was an impassioned effort late in the second half that got the Buckeyes a lead and then they ran with it.
Asked if this team had more emotion than other’s in his past, Foster didn’t hesitate to give an answer.
“Not even close. Yeah, a lot more. A lot more passion. A lot more fire. A lot more juice. A lot more fun.”
Postgame Notes
- Ohio State (29-4) has now advanced to its sixth Big Ten tournament championship game and its fourth in the past five years.
- OSU is 25-14 all-time in the Big Ten tournament.
- OSU is 11-2 in its last 13 Big Ten tournament games.
- Jantel Lavender finished with 27 points against Wisconsin and has now scored in double figures in all 99 career games, the longest active streak in Division I.
- Ohio State is 44-14 all-time against the Badgers and has won the last 17 meetings overall.
- The Buckeyes won all three meetings against Wisconsin this season: 70-55 in Columbus, 83-78 win in Madison and 82-73 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
- This was the fourth meeting between Ohio State and Wisconsin at the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes are 4-0 against the Badgers in the tournament.
- Seniors Shavelle Little, Andrea Walker, Maria Moeller and Cherise Daniel have 108 career wins, one shy from tying the program record of 109 set by the class of 2008.
- Head Coach Jim Foster is 13-5 all-time at the Big Ten tournament.
- The Buckeyes have connected on a school-record 217 three-pointers this season.
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