Ohio State women need OT to beat Fla. State

Associated PRess

COLUMBUS

Tayler Hill had a career-high 31 points, including five in overtime, to lead No. 17 Ohio State to a 78-75 win against Florida State on Wednesday night in the Big/Ten ACC Challenge.

Hill made a free throw to pull the Buckeyes (6-0) within 75-74 with 59 seconds remaining and then scored the go-ahead layup with 31 seconds to go.

Ohio State, which plays at No. 18 Oklahoma on Sunday, got the ball back when Cierra Bravard was tied up and the possession arrow favored the Buckeyes. Hill hit two foul shots with 14 seconds left and the Seminoles had a chance to tie it, but Alexa Deluzio missed a 3-pointer from the right corner.

The rebound went out of bounds to Florida State (3-5), but Ashley Adams stole the ball and a wild scramble ensued. Both benches emptied at the buzzer, but order was restored.

Bravard had 27 points for the Seminoles.

Ohio State freshman Kalpana Beach had 11 points in 24 minutes.

A 6-foot-1 forward from Westlake High School, Beach has kept matters simple since she was introduced as part of the starting lineup for the season opener against Tennessee State.

“I just try to come out and play as hard as I can,” she said. “You can’t really mess up too bad doing that.”

Beach brings a physical presence to the power forward position. She leads the team in rebounding.

It also is what the Buckeyes needed after the graduation of Jantel Lavender, the Big Ten’s all-time leading rebounder.