Buckeyes defeat Cornhuskers

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio State’s 1-2 punch was great. But so were the rest of the Buckeyes.

Tayler Hill had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Samantha Prahalis added 19 points and nine assists to lead No. 10 Ohio State past 20th-ranked Nebraska 82-68 on Thursday night.

“They’ve got as good a guard play with the two of those guys as anybody in the country,” Cornhuskers coach Connie Yori said.

But the rest of the Buckeyes needed to contribute — and they did in a big way.

Ashley Adams had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Buckeyes (18-1, 5-1 Big Ten), with Amber Stokes adding 12 points. And the bench had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Prahalis, the only senior on the roster, was asked how this year’s team compares with others that have won two Big Ten titles and have made it to three NCAA tournaments.

“The other teams I’ve been on we had a lot of talent, just as much as this one,” she said. “But this team is all about defense and hard work. This team has a little bit of a tough edge to it. It’s not like we were soft in the past, but it’s just a little different. We have a little bit more dog in us.”

The previous four Ohio State teams featured All-American post player Jantel Lavender. This, coach Jim Foster’s 10th Buckeyes team, doesn’t have a dominant inside presence but still gets the job done.

“There’s a lot of ways to play basketball — a lot of ways,” Foster said. “You figure out the attributes of the players you have and draw up a scheme and go play.”

Ohio State shot 59 percent in the opening half in building a 41-36 lead and then broke the game open with a 10-2 second-half run.