Finally, Ohio St. tops BC
The Eagles had knocked OSU out of the tournament twice in the last three years.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Star Allen wouldn't let No. 6 Ohio State lose.
Allen scored 16 points, including five in the second overtime, to lead No. 7 Ohio State to an 80-72 victory over Boston College on Tuesday night.
"I had to be intense," Allen said of her pivotal three-point play with 1:06 left that put the Buckeyes ahead 77-72. "I just went after it, I saw it and I took it."
The Buckeyes (3-0) survived despite blowing a 17-point lead in the final 4:11 of regulation. Kindyll Dorsey hit three 3-pointers in a span of 30 seconds in the final minute to fuel the furious comeback by the Eagles (3-1).
"We decided we wanted to lull them to sleep a little bit -- we tried to make it exciting," BC coach Cathy Inglese said with a smile.
In two of the past three years, higher-seeded Ohio State teams have lost to Boston College in the NCAA tournament. It appeared the Eagles might have the Buckeyes' number once again after their fast finish.
Second overtime
In the second overtime, Allen opened the scoring with a basket inside and then later added a critical three-point play with 1:06 left -- after Ohio State's two-time All-American center, Jessica Davenport, had fouled out. Her three-point play gave the Buckeyes some breathing room.
"Jess is so good, but Allen did a lot of nice things," Inglese said. "She plays with a lot of confidence."
Brandie Hoskins led the Buckeyes with 20 points. Hoskins had torn her right Achilles tendon in the waning moments the last time the teams met in the second round of the NCAA tournament last March.
"We responded well after they pushed it into the [first] overtime," Hoskins said. "We talked about executing on offense and working harder on defense."
Kathrin Ress had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Boston College before fouling out, while Dorsey had 21 and Elisabeth Egnell had 16. Sarah Marshall added 11 assists.
Dorsey, who had scored 24 points to lead the upset last spring, said she and her teammates never doubted they could come back.
"We knew we could do it. We just kept running, running, running," she said. "Sarah's just amazing as a point guard. She just kept getting me the ball."
Davenport had 19 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the second overtime.