Women's Basketball
No. 3 Buckeyes Use Second Half Surge to Defeat No. 15 Cal 83-71
By John PorentasNo. 15 Cal (3-2) proved they are a very talented, very completive basketball team in the Buckeye Classic tournament championship game against No. 3 Ohio State (8-0). They trailed by just four at the half at 43-39, the took a two point lead at the 17:47 of the second half at 47-45. That was also the time at which they found out they weren't going to be quite good enough to beat the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes went on a 15-0 run over about the next four minutes that left no doubt as to which team was the better one in St. John Arena this night.
"In the second half at about the 15 or 16 minute mark there was a stretch where we had five turnovers in a row and great teams capitalize and they did. They put you in the hole and now you start to scramble and I think that was a big piece of the game at that moment," said Cal Head Coach Joanne Boyle.
Samantha Prahalis
Photo by Jim DavidsonIt was definitely the pivotal point in what had been a competitive game.The run was marked not only by Cal turnovers but also an incredible performance by OSU junior center Jantel Lavender. Lavender struggled with her offense yesterday against IUPUI and continued to struggle in the first half against Cal, going just two of six from the field in the first half. In OSU's run, however, Lavender scored 10 of OSU's 14 points on three field goals and four free throws. Once she broke out there was no stopping Lavender who ended the game with a game-high 33 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Lavender has scored a double-double in all 73 game she has played in as a Buckeye.
"At half time we thought she (Lavender) didn't get enough touches," said OSU point guard Samantha Prahalis.
"Right when I got the ball (in the second half) I was thinking one thing, get it to Jantel, because I know she's going to explode and have a huge half, and she did. Every time I got it to her something good happened said," said Prahalis.
Lavender keyed the crucial run, but she didn't have to carry the whole load by herself against the Golden Bears. Prahalis was terrific with a double-double of her own. Prahalis scored 14 points and handed out a career-high 14 assists eclipsing her former career-high of 13 by one. She also came up with two steals. During OSU's crucial second-half run Prahalis had two assists, two steals and a field goal.
"I think she (Prahalis) is as good as there is in the open court, and she's improving in the half court," said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster.
"I think they (Ohio State) know their identity, and eventually it's going to become the Sammy and Jantel show, and that's what it became for a while," said Boyle. "They know their strength and they went to them."
The run took the steam out of Cal.
"We were a little bit tired at that point. We weren't as sharp mentally," said Boyle.
"I think mentally that (the OSU run) makes you more tired,"said said.
OSU dominated the game early on the strength of excellent shooting by forward Sarah Schulze. Schulze knocked down four threes in the first half, two of them on OSU's first two possession to put the Buckeyes up 6-0. Schulze scored 12 of OSU's first 14 points.
"We left her open for those two threes at the beginning of the game," said Boyle.
"What she does is she extends the defense. You can't double off of her so she really extends the defense," Boyle said. "You can't leave her open. She's a good player."
Schulze finished the game with 15 points, all of them on threes. She was five of eight from behind the arc.
Cal was led by senior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson who scored a team-high 25 points and also pulled down seven rebounds. Forward DeNesha Stallworth added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Gennifer Brandon added 12 off the bench for the Golden Bears.
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