OSU women have early exit

By Jim Massie

The Columbus Dispatch

BOWLING GREEN

At the end of the day, the end of the game and the end of the season, stops mattered more to the Ohio State women’s basketball team than NCAA tournament seeds.

The Buckeyes were swept from the tournament in the first round Sunday at the Stroh Center because they never found a way to keep the Florida Gators from answering their repeated comeback bids in the second half of a 70-65 disappointment.

Coach Jim Foster, who was unhappy that his team was seeded eighth in the Des Moines Regional, was left to “wish for a different ending for this group.”

“They were a joy to be in the gym with all season,” he said.

Ninth-seeded Florida (20-12) rode three turnovers by the Buckeyes (25-7) in the first two minutes to a 9-0 lead and began the process of keeping the partisan OSU crowd out of the game.

“I’m really proud of my kids for coming out and throwing the first punch and setting the tone,” Florida coach Amanda Butler said.

The Gators stretched the advantage to as many as 13 points in the first half and didn’t allow Ohio State to get closer than 65-63 after a Tayler Hill layup with 1:01 remaining.

“We needed to get stops,” a tearful Hill said in the locker room. “It was that simple. We played better [in the second half], but we needed to get stops.”

Hill delivered a great game with 23 points, four assists, four steals and two blocks, but Samantha Prahalis was held to nine points, 11 below her average.

Darryce Moore (Boardman) scored two points in 18 minutes for OSU.