BIG TEN OSU women recover from early miscues
The Buckeyes kept their home unbeaten streak alive by beating Purdue.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The first time Jessica Davenport touched the ball against Purdue, she turned it over. She started the second half the same way.
Davenport regrouped from those early lapses to pick up 24 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 9 Ohio State recover from a sluggish start to beat No. 20 Purdue 63-50 on Sunday.
"My teammates told me where the double-teams were and I had to turn away from them," Davenport said. "It's a work in progress."
Records and points
Brandie Hoskins added 13 points and six assists for the Buckeyes (12-2), who were coming off a 69-62 loss at Penn State on Thursday night in their Big Ten opener.
Katie Gearlds had 12 points and Erin Lawless 10 for Purdue (8-4). Lawless had a career-high 29 in a 72-67 win over Wisconsin on Thursday.
The Boilermakers had won the last four meetings with Ohio State and nine of the last 10. Troubled by ballhandling problems -- they totaled 24 turnovers -- they trailed by as many as 19 points and never got the lead below double figures in the last 13 minutes.
"I've got to leave before coach (Kristy Curry) gets in here," Gearlds said with a grin as she hurried out of the postgame interview room.
Curry said she wouldn't yell or curse her players, but said she was disappointed in their many mental mistakes.
"It's obviously our perimeter play -- we're not taking care of the ball. And it's pretty much a widespread disease for us," Curry said.
Ahead 20-17 after a dismal first half for both teams, the Buckeyes pulled away with 6-0, 7-2 and 9-0 runs in the first 111/2 minutes of the second half. Ohio State shot 58 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes after hitting 28 percent in the opening half.
"We had a lot more movement on offense," said guard Ashley Allen. "That really opened up the floor not just for Jess but for everyone."
After hitting just eight of their first 30 shots from the field, the Buckeyes hit 12 of their next 20 to pull away.
Expanding the lead
Davenport scored eight of Ohio State's first 10 points in the second half to expand the lead to 30-22. She hit 12-of-15 free throws while Purdue only got to the line 10 times, making seven.
"We executed in the second half," Buckeyes coach Jim Foster said. "We just ran our offense and got some good opportunities for Jess and found some openings for Brandie and the others in the open court."
Purdue went 81/2 minutes without scoring a point in the opening half -- yet Ohio State didn't take advantage. The Buckeyes were just 3-for-15 from the field over the same period, turning a 6-5 deficit into a 13-6 lead.
The Boilermakers had 17 turnovers before they picked up their ninth point but closed the half with a 9-0 run.
Caity Matter chipped in with 10 points for the Buckeyes, who ran their home record to 8-0 this season.
"We just played a team that has everyone returning. We were 3-1 against them a year ago and I said they were the most talented team in the league," Curry said. "There won't be a tougher task on the road than this."