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Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Gain Revenge and Big Ten Title with Lopsided Win Over Purdue
By Tony GerdemanLed by 20 points and 11 rebounds from center Jantel Lavender, the #7 Buckeyes (24-3, 12-2 Big Ten) claimed a Big Ten record sixth-consecutive conference championship in their 75-45 win over Purdue (13-12, 8-6 Big Ten) Thursday night.
Jantel Lavender scores two of her game-high 20 points. Lavender recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Photo by Jim DavidsonOhio State showcased a stifling defense that held Purdue to just 13-56 shooting from the field--including a scoreless run of 12:20 spanning both halves--and the Buckeyes took no quarter in exacting revenge on a 63-61 loss to the Boilermakers two weeks ago.
Building a 25-point lead at halftime and stretching that into leads of as much as 35 points in the second half, the Buckeyes kept taking it to Purdue both offensively and defensively.
Given the fact that the Boilermakers came away with a win in the two teams’ previous meeting, Purdue Head Coach Sharon Versyp expected the Buckeyes to open strong.
“We knew they were going to come after us. We were able to beat them the first time, so they were going to be ready to go. But they just were hitting outside shots, inside shots--they have everything going right now. They’re playing great basketball.”
The Buckeyes made 16 of their first 20 shots, and by the time the dust settled from the Ohio State shooting spree, they had built a 37-16 lead over Purdue with 6:46 left in the first half.
But as impressive as this Ohio State offense was, it was the defense that head Buckeye Head Coach Jim Foster nearly smiling.
“I think we forced the issues against Iowa in terms of tempo, but we didn’t guard the way we like to. In the Penn State game and the second half tonight we had an attitude about defense as well as the tempo," said Foster.
"We have been striving for that all season. I am starting to get happy with our defense.
"We just made more of a commitment to defense and I think it carried over. We changed our whole demeanor and it has carried over. I saw it tonight and need to see it the rest of the year.”
The Buckeyes held the Purdue to their second-lowest offensive output of the season, and it was clear that the demeanor change that Foster mentioned had taken hold of his players.
"You don’t want teams coming in thinking that they contend with you“, said Lavender.
“I think Purdue come in here with extreme confidence.
"We just wanted to come out and prove a point.
"I think every single girl on our team took it personally that Purdue was so confident coming in here.”
Ohio State’s aggression led to 38 points in the paint, and that had as much to do with the guards driving as it did the Buckeye post game.
With the Buckeyes pushing the ball at every opportunity, point guard Samantha Prahalis handed out 11 of the team’s 14 assists on the night.
But it wasn’t just Prahalis on the move, as several other Buckeyes guards were making noise as well. Freshman guard Tayler Hill continues to reemerge as a scoring threat, finishing with 14 points on 5-6 shooting. Brittany Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury against Penn State, returned to the starting lineup to play an easy 20 minutes while scoring eight points.
Prahalis wasn’t shy when asked what it’s like to see contributions from so many different directions.
“It just feels great. It just feels right. When everyone gets involved and everyone can score and everyone can rebound, it’s such a confidence builder--not just for one person, but for the whole team. I think it’s contagious when everyone gets into the whole mix.”
“I think everybody wanted to show that we are the number one team in the Big Ten“, added Lavender.
“And that’s just what it boiled down to."
So to speak, of course.
And so now this Ohio State team will forever be known as Big Ten Champions. But don’t think Jim Foster has already ordered the embroidery on the banners.
“We’ll talk about it after the season. It’s about the next game. It’s about getting better. All the other stuff, if you take care of that, then stuff happens. We have a mindset, and it’s starting to evolve. That other stuff will be summer discussion.”
Game Notes:
* Ohio State is a perfect 18-0 at home this year, which is the best home mark in program history, besting the 17-0 mark set back during the 2004-05 season.
* Ohio State is 126-9 at home overall under head coach Jim Foster and 99-5 since the start of the 2004-05 season.
* Since the start of Ohio State's Big Ten championship run in 2004-05, the Buckeyes are 47-2 in Big Ten games at Value City Arena and 83-13 in Big Ten play overall.
* The 45 points scored by the Boilermakers is the fourth lowest total they have scored in the series. They put up just 28 points in 1976, 38 in 1977 and 43 in 1983.
* Samantha Prahalis has eight games with 10 or more assists and has dished out at least eight helpers 16 times this season.
* Jantel Lavender has scored in double figures in all 93 career games, the longest active streak in Division I. Lavender moved into fourth place on Ohio State’s all-times scoring list with 1,836 points, passing Averrill Roberts (1,818; 1990-93). Tracey Hall (1985-88) is third with 1,912 points.
* Lavender has 15 double-doubles this season, the third most in Division I, and 52 in her career, the most among active Big Ten players. The Buckeyes are 43-9 overall in her career when she records a double-double.
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