Buckeyes pull past Nebraska behind Packer

COLUMBUS (AP) — Despite a bum knee and a shooting slump, Marscilla Packer showed up just in time for No. 18 Ohio State.

Packer hit four critical 3-pointers in the second half to finish with 23 points and the Buckeyes pulled away to beat Nebraska 86-74 Saturday, ending the Cornhuskers’ six-game winning streak.

“I wasn’t thinking. I was just shooting,” said Packer, who had made just 19 of 62 (31 percent) of her shots from the field in the previous five games.

Jantel Lavender added 21 points and Tamarah Riley scored 11 of her 13 in the second half for the Buckeyes (9-2), who won their fourth in a row in their final tuneup before beginning Big Ten play on Dec. 30 at Michigan State.

Danielle Page scored 16 points and Tay Hester and Cory Montgomery each had 14 for Nebraska (9-3), which had not lost since Nov. 24 against Creighton in the Oahu Classic.

“We were hearing before the game that Packer was not going to play because of her knee,” Cornhuskers coach Connie Yori said. “Then she comes in and gets 23 against us. She really lit us up.”

Packer hit three 3-pointers from the left corner — she had to reset her feet one time so she didn’t step on the side out-of-bounds line because she was so deep — while Ohio State slowly pulled away. Her third 3 in the span of five Buckeyes’ baskets put them ahead 54-49 before Ashlee Trebilcock’s pass led to an easy layup by Star Allen at the 14-minute mark of the second half.

The Buckeyes built the lead to 11 points before the Cornhuskers narrowed it to 71-66 with 4 1/2 minutes left on a free throw by Hester, a 3-pointer by Montgomery and two foul shots by Dominique Kelley.