Lavender, Prahalis lead OSU women

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

With the game on the line in the closing minutes, Jantel Lavender and Ohio State were at their best at both ends of the floor.

Lavender scored 32 points, Samantha Prahalis had 15 points and a career-high 15 assists and the sixth-ranked Buckeyes beat No. 11 Oklahoma 95-84 on Sunday in the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.

“They’re a very good basketball team and we’re a very good basketball team,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “And the last 7 minutes our defense was up to the task.”

The offensive numbers were pretty gaudy, too.

Brittany Johnson added 18 points, Tayler Hill finished with 16 and Sarah Schulze 12 for the Buckeyes (7-0), who pulled away after the game was tied with just under 11 minutes left.

Spectacular freshman Aaryn Ellenberg, who had a career-best 34 points for Oklahoma in her seventh game, tied it for the final time at 62-all on a jumper from the right wing at the 11:44 mark.

Seconds later, she picked up her fourth foul and went to the sideline.

The momentum swung dramatically.

“We couldn’t get quite over the hump,” Sooners coach Sherri Coale said. “When Aaryn Ellenberg got her fourth foul and had to come out it began to unravel a little bit because she had been so much a part of our offensive confidence.

“We were really looking to her. A true freshman? Are you kidding me?”

An instant after Ellenberg left the game, Prahalis hit a pullup 15-footer. After Lavender hit a 12-foot turnaround, Joanna McFarland streaked by Lavender for a layup.

At the other end, Lavender hit a bank shot and was fouled by McFarland, completing the three-point play.

An Oklahoma turnover was followed by the biggest shot of the game.

With the shot clock about to expire, Lavender let fly with another tough 15-footer with a defender in her face that hit nothing but net and gave Ohio State a 71-64 lead.

“It was fun,” the three-time Big Ten player of the year said. “I knew Oklahoma was the type of team that was going to come in and play extremely hard.

“I knew it was going to be physical, it was going to be a battle and we had a great crowd that was going to be behind us.”