OSU women play surprisingly bad

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis took the blame for suddenly losing her touch at the line.

Brittney Thomas scored 19 points, including a basket to trigger an 8-0 run and two clinching free throws in overtime, to lead Michigan State to a 71-68 victory over the seventh-ranked Buckeyes on Sunday.

“I couldn’t close it out,” said Prahalis, who had hit 47 straight free throws coming in but missed seven of 11 foul shots. “I had a couple times when I could have closed it out with some free throws — and missed them. I think it was three times I could have [won the game]. It’s just unacceptable.”

Ohio State (26-4, 14-3) didn’t have much to play for, having already clinched its unprecedented sixth consecutive Big Ten title earlier in the week. Yet the loss might have revealed some trouble ahead.

Asked why his team fell behind by 12 points in a dreary first half, coach Jim Foster said, “That’s a question for discussion. It’s obviously a flaw that we have, something we have to address individually and collectively.”

Jantel Lavender, who led the Buckeyes with 24 points and 11 rebounds, said she was stunned by the loss, before the second-largest crowd (11,827) to witness a women’s game at Value City Arena.

“I’m very surprised,” she said. “I’m just shocked. We should have pulled that out.”

There was a lot that was surprising. The Buckeyes had won their last five games overall and came in 18-0 at home. Shooting 46 percent from the field in their first 29 games, they mustered just 39 percent. Two weeks after setting a Big Ten record with 17 3-pointers made in a game, they were just 3 for 15 behind the arc. And they also had 22 turnovers, many of them unforced.

Ohio State trailed by 13 points with under 10 minutes left, but had two shots to win the game in regulation — an off-balance Prahalis drive and a tip by Sarah Schulze. The Buckeyes also had a look at a tying 3 at the end of overtime, but Schulze’s attempt was short and wide of the mark.

At the same time, Michigan State (19-8, 10-6) added a third victory this season over a Top-10 team and played with emotion and purpose.

“It’s always a big game to get ready for postseason where you’re going to be away and you’re going to have huge crowds that are rooting against you, so to just step up to the plate and have multiple players step up and be ready to play, it’s a win we needed,” said Thomas.