Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Rout Bobcats
By John Porentas
The game was just under five minutes old but for all
intents and purposes, it was already over.
Ohio State opened the game with a 16-0 run and never
looked back in equaling the most lopsided win in Ohio State history
and handing Ohio its worst loss ever. When the final horn sounded,
the Buckeyes (6-1) had defeated Ohio (2-2) by a final of 107-37.
Ohio State, who was without the services of starting
guard Brandie Hoskins, put seven players into double figures in scoring
while outrebounded Ohio by a whopping 45-27 margin.
"I think Ohio State is a very good team, obviously.
They did a lot of things very well," said Ohio Head Coach Lynn
Bria.
The Buckeyes shot the ball well, took care of the ball,
and rebounded well. Most impressively, they held the Bobcats to just
37 points. Ohio had averaged 103 points per game in their first three
games and one exhibition contest prior to this game. OSU's defense
limited Ohio to 21.2% shooting from the floor and forced 21 turnovers
that included 11 steals.
"Their defense bothered us. We're a team that can
generate some points, but the thing that they do so well is that they
never trap. They just play solid man-to-man defense. They pressure
the ball," said Bria.
"I thought we were aggressive within the framework
of how we want to play defense," said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster.
Seven players scored in double figures for Ohio State.
Freshman center Tamarah Riley led all scorers with 18. Senior guard
Caity Matter added 14, junior forward Michelle Munoz, sophomore center
Jessica Davenport, senior guard Beth Howe and sophomore forward Stephanie
Blanton all scored 12 and junior guard Candace Dark added 11. No player
scored more than six points for Ohio.
"We talk a lot often and do a lot of drills where
we talk about 'the next pass'," said Foster explaining OSU's
balanced offensive attack.
"It produces a better shot. The first pass produces
a good shot, but the next pass might produce a great shot or a higher
percentage shot. We made it (the next pass) often tonight," said
Foster.
OSU outscored Ohio 46-16 in the first half and 61-21
in the second half.
OSU shot 10-of-15 from three point range (66.7%) and
40-of-59 from the field (67.8%). The Buckeyes made 17-of-19 free throws
(89.5%).
OSU committed 10 turnovers in the first half, but only
two in the second half. They totaled 22 assists in scoring 40 field
goals.
The 70 point margin equals the old record for margin
of victory set when Ohio State beat Akron 105-35 on Feb. 22, 1977.
Ohio State handed the Bobcats their worst lost in program history.
Ohio's previous worst lost was 52 points at Iowa in 1991.
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