Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Thrash Braves
for Tournament Championship
By John Porentas
No. 10 Ohio State overcame torrid first-half shooting
by Bradley to register an easy 86-52 win and claim the Wonder/Hostess
Buckeye Classic championship.
Led by guard Genny Mueller, Bradley hit eight-of-10
three point attempts in the first half with Mueller canning five-of-seven
attempts from beyond the arc. Bradley's Jen Brown was two-for-two
and Devyn Flanagan one-for-one as well. Mueller ended the half with
17 points.
"Ohio State came out in a zone and I thought we
shot the ball very well," said Bradley Head Coach Paula Buscher.
Despite the torrid shooting, the Buckeyes led 41-32
at the half. OSU dominated in the paint by a 28-4 count and also outscored
Bradley 14-4 on points off turnovers. The Braves turned the ball over
12 times in the first half.
The second half was a different story defensively for
the Buckeyes. OSU abandoned their zone and went to a straight man-to-man
with forward Caity Matter on Mueller. The move changed the complexion
of the game.
"She's a very good stand-still shooter. In the
second half, we didn't let here stand still," said OSU Head Coach
Jim Foster.
"We didn't want her to get standstill threes, we
really didn't want her to catch the ball," said Matter. "I
just tried to deny her and when she got the ball make her go off the
dribble," Matter said.
"I just chased her around the screens and was physical
with her."
Mueller added nine more points in the second half, but
the Buckeye man-to-man defense made life miserable for the Braves.
OSU finished the game with seven blocked shots, four by center Jessica
Davenport, 12 steals, and forced 22 turnovers. The Buckeyes outscored
Bradley 45-20 in the second half by continuing their dominance in
the paint. OSU racked up 50 points in the paint for the game while
holding Bradley to 8.
"Unfortunately for us I don't think we executed
well against their man defense," said Buscher.
"They dominated us in the inside game, and that's
where we needed to get some points when they went to a man defense."
Buscher said OSU's man defense took Mueller out of the
game.
"In the second half we were trying to get her open,
but I thought that Ohio State did a great job trying to limit her
touches, and when she touched it, they were all over her. They made
sure it wasn't easy," said Buscher.
Five Buckeyes scored in double figures. Davenport finished
with 19, Caity Matter 13, and Marcilla Packer and Stephanie Blanton
10 each.
Mueller finished with a game-high 26 and Jen Brown added
15 for Butler.
OSU's Jessica Davenport was named the tournament most
valuable player.
The game was played in St. John Arena.
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