Ohio State women overwhelm Army

November 17, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

Buckeyes center Jantel Lavender scored 28 points in the 36-point victory.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The only surprise for Army coach Dave Magarity was that Ohio State center Jantel Lavender didn’t score more.

Lavender had 28 points to lead No. 18 Ohio State to a 92-58 victory over Army on Sunday, but only four came after halftime when she played just nine minutes.

“I’m shocked to see she only had 28 after having 24 at the half,” Magarity said. “Obviously, she’s a great team kid, so she’s not worried about that.”

Ohio State (2-0) also got 14 points from Star Allen and 11 by Ashlee Trebilcock. The Black Knights (0-2) had four players in double figures, led by Erin Anthony’s 14 and 12 for Alex McGuire.

“We were a lot more patient today,” Lavender said, comparing Sunday’s effort to Friday’s game against Butler. “We reversed the ball more. That opens up the floor. When we do that we are a very effective team.”

Samantha Prahalis had nine points, seven assists and three steals for the Buckeyes despite picking up her fourth foul with 16:21 remaining in the game. Ohio State then scored 16 straight points for a 65-37 lead with Allen scoring half of those points.

Lavender was nearly unstoppable in the first half, hitting 9-of-10 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws and grabbing five rebounds. When Army cut a 19-point deficit to eight on a bank shot by Laura Baranek, Lavender made three layups and two foul shots over the next 2 1/2 minutes to make the score 45-29.

“Lavender adds whole a new dimension to that post spot,” Magarity said. “We just couldn’t handle her. She gets her shot off too quick. We tried to double her from guard but she was too powerful.”

The Buckeyes outscored Army 48-18 in the paint and scored 38 points off 25 Black Knights’ turnovers. Ohio State had all 11 players get at least 10 minutes for the second straight game.

“The more experience we get in game situations on the floor, the better off we’re going to be,” coach Jim Foster said.