Prahalis powers Buckeyes to win

Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, IND.

Samantha Prahalis had 18 points and nine assists to help No. 9 Ohio State beat Indiana 73-55 Thursday night.

Tayler Hill, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, produced all 18 of her points in the second half and Ashley Adams had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes (20-1, 7-1 Big Ten).

Ohio State, the conference’s highest-scoring team at nearly 79 points per game, trailed 26-25 at halftime.

The Buckeyes shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and held Indiana to 28 percent shooting after the break. Ohio State scored 25 points off of Indiana’s 16 turnovers.

Aulani Sinclair scored a career-high 27 points for Indiana (5-16, 0-8).

Jasmine McGhee had nine points and 12 rebounds but shot 3-for-16 from the field.

Sasha Chaplin added six points and 11 rebounds for the Hoosiers, who lost their eighth consecutive game.

Indiana jumped out to a quick 11-6 lead by making five of its first eight shots. The Hoosiers extended their advantage to 20-12 before Ohio State finally rallied.

The Buckeyes began trapping late in the first half, and it rattled the Hoosiers.

A 3-pointer by Raven Ferguson cut Indiana’s lead to one late in the half, but the Hoosiers held onto the slimmest of leads at the break.

Indiana outrebounded the Buckeyes 30-16 in the first half and held the Buckeyes to 34 percent shooting.

Prahalis gave Ohio State the lead with a jumper less than a minute into the second half, and she was just getting started. She either scored or assisted on Ohio State’s first nine points of the half.