Friday, February 24, 2006
Ohio State topped Purdue 67-58 for their first title in two decades.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Jessica Davenport scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to lead No. 6 Ohio State to a 67-58 victory over No. 12 Purdue on Thursday night, giving the Buckeyes their first outright Big Ten title in two decades.
The victory -- Ohio State's 15th in a row since losing 61-59 at Purdue on Jan. 1 -- gave the Buckeyes (24-2, 14-1) a two-game lead in the conference with one to play.
A crowd of 7,174 chanted "Big Ten champs" in the final seconds as Ohio State locked up its first outright title since the 1985-86 season.
Brandie Hoskins added 19 points and Debbie Merrill 13 for the Buckeyes, who scored their final 14 points on free throws.
Ohio State was 19-of-27 at the line to Purdue's 6-for-9.
Boilermakers' scoring
Katie Gearlds led the Boilermakers (22-5, 12-3) with 19 points, with Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton adding 13. The Boilermakers have lost two straight, including a costly 63-61 overtime lost to Indiana at home on Sunday.
The Boilermakers were unable to get any offense inside the paint or even within 12 feet of the basket against the Buckeyes, the nation's stingiest defense at 51.3 points per game. With the 6-foot-5 Davenport patrolling the lane along with Merrill, Purdue was forced to shoot from the perimeter.
The Buckeyes, up by seven at the half, stretched the lead to 39-28 in the opening 5 minutes of the second half only to have the Boilermakers pull within three points twice. Wisdom-Hylton's two free throws with 7:29 left cut the lead to 48-45. But the Buckeyes responded on Merrill's leaning bank shot that ended up being a 3-point play.
After a Purdue turnover, Ashley Allen pinpointed a pass to Davenport for another basket inside to make it 53-45 with just under 6 minutes remaining -- the Buckeyes' final field goal.
Gearlds hit a 3-pointer to pull the Boilermakers to 53-48 before Hoskins hit four consecutive free throws for a 57-48 lead with 2:21 left.
Purdue never got closer than six points again.