Women's Basketball discussion

espn.com

Lavender, Prahalis give Buckeyes potent one-two punch

To get this picture right, imagine a slightly shy version of Jo Polniaczek, Nancy McKeon's New York tough-gal character from "Facts of Life." (That is, the initial pony-tailed, motorcycle-riding, Blair-bashing Jo. Not the later, big-haired, lost-her-edge, headed-to-Lifetime Network Jo.)

Jo is fictional and from the Bronx, while Samantha "Sammy" Prahalis is real and from Long Island … but you can pretty much envision the rookie point guard and hear her accent now, right?

OK, next to the 5-foot-7 Sammy is the 6-4 Jantel Lavender, born and raised in Ohio. They're standing in a hallway at the Devaney Center after Ohio State's 69-65 victory Saturday at Nebraska, which moved the No. 17 Buckeyes to 7-2. Their only losses are to fellow ranked teams North Carolina (No. 2) and Auburn (No. 11).

Continued............

Dispatch

OSU women's basketball: Foster likes this team's toughness
Monday, December 15, 2008 2:54 AM
By Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

From the beginning of practice through the first nine games of the season, Ohio State women's basketball coach Jim Foster has seen enough growth in the 18th-ranked Buckeyes to offer an observation, followed by a mild aftershock.

"I think we're a lot better," he said. "We're better today than we were at any point last year."

Last season's team, of course, won a share of a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship before collapsing in the postseason with first-game losses in the conference and NCAA tournaments.

Obviously Foster is expecting more from these Buckeyes (7-2), who come off a week of exams to play Cleveland State (4-4) tonight in Nationwide Arena.

Continued..........

Dispatch

Ohio State vs. Cleveland State preview
Monday, December 15, 2008 2:53 AM


Game preview
OHIO STATE VS. CLEVELAND STATE
7 tonight

• Where: Nationwide Arena

• TV: None

• Radio: WOSU-AM (820)

• Records: Ohio State 7-2; Cleveland State 4-4

• Matchup to watch: Cleveland State lacks size and has only six players averaging in double-figures for minutes played. Handling Ohio State sophomore center Jantel Lavender on the interior won't be easy for the Vikings. But it will be interesting to see how patient the Buckeyes guards are in delivering the basketball to Lavender in spots where she can do something with it.

• Notable: The game marks the first appearance of the Ohio State women in Nationwide Arena. A host team for first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games is required to play one game in that facility during the season. The Vikings return three starters from last season's Horizon League champions, led by all-conference guard Kailey Klein. In its last time out, Cleveland State lost 84-77 to Kent State in overtime on Dec. 6, despite 27 points from Klein. ... The Buckeyes are ranked sixth in the RealtimeRPI.com rankings, with the second-toughest schedule in the country. Lavender has double-doubles in all nine games this season and is fifth nationally in rebounding at 12 per game. Senior forward Star Allen (56.1 percent) and junior center Andrea Walker (50 percent) are the only two OSU players shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Overall, the Buckeyes are hitting 43.8 percent of their field-goal attempts.

Continued............

Are our girls looking at another big NCAA tourny run this year?

Dispatch

No. 18 Ohio State 68, Cleveland State 54
Women's basketball: Buckeyes cruise early but finish on sour note
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 3:18 AM
By Jim Massie

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The coach of the winning team scanned the box score last night in Nationwide Arena and looked like a man who had just found a fly doing the backstroke in his lobster bisque.

The star center for the winning team sat next to him and also wore a frown after the Ohio State women's basketball team defeated Cleveland State 68-54.

And a guard who played one of the best games of her career for the winning team didn't seem to find the experience appetizing, either.

The sour moods followed because the favored, 18th-ranked Buckeyes built a 30-point lead with solid play and then watched the underdog Vikings shave the deficit to 14 points during the final, sloppy 10 minutes.

"I'm not happy with this team right now," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. "I don't think we played with the passion and energy that is necessary to be competitive in a league like the Big Ten.

Continued........

Scout.com (Free)

Cleveland State No Match For Host Buckeyes.................

Fosters teams are so weird. It never seems like they can play a complete game. Glad to see them get the win though. This game shouldnt have been this close.

Dispatch

No. 18 Ohio State 68, Delaware State 35
Women's basketball: Buckeyes fix past sins, get back to work
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 2:59 AM
By Jim Massie

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Twenty-four hours later, the Ohio State women's basketball team had lost the queasy feeling that accompanied a sloppy victory.

The 18th-ranked Buckeyes (9-2) played a more palatable brand of basketball last night while dispatching Delaware State 68-35 in Value City Arena in the final audition before the Big Ten season. The win came on the heels of a 68-54 victory over Cleveland State on Monday in Nationwide Arena.

The Lady Hornets (2-6), a cat-quick defensive team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, did rattle the Buckeyes at times with full-court pressure, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Sophomore center Jantel Lavender proved too much for the visitors to handle, whether on the inside or in transition. She extended her double-double streak this season to 11 games with a 29-point, 11-rebound performance.

Along the way, Lavender hit 12 of 13 shots from the field and all five free-throw attempts. She actually outscored the Hornets 17-16 in the first half.

Continued.........

Dispatch

Big Ten season beckons

Tempus fugit, which in Latin means time flies (or flees if I remember correctly). So the sensation has outlasted at least the Roman Empire.

At any rate, the Ohio State non-conference schedule ended Tuesday night with the 68-35 win over Delaware State in Value City Arena. Eleven games again seemingly swept by in a heartbeat. (The Hornets are playing at Michigan State on Wednesday, so people fond of comparing scores will have another measuring stick for the Buckeyes.)

Ohio State (9-2) hosts Michigan (6-4) at 2 p.m. Sunday in VCA in the conference opener for both teams. For the past several years, a game against these Wolverines didn't evoke much emotion. The Buckeyes have won the past 10 meetings mostly because Michigan stopped fielding a competitive team after the 2001-02 season. Again, tempus fugit.

Continued............

Scout.com (Free)

OSU Ready To Show Big Ten Its Running Shoes................