Women's Basketball
Buckeyes Romp Over Falcons
to Advance in Preseason NIT
By John Porentas
Ohio State (1-0) opened it's basketball season with
a lopsided 89-41 win over Bowling Green (0-1) at the Value City Arena
to advance in the preseason NIT tournament.
OSU Head Coach Jim Foster used 12 players in the game,
but it didn't seem to matter which players were on the floor as the
Buckeyes dominated on both ends of the floor.
The Buckeyes enjoyed a clear talent advantage against
the Falcons, but magnified that advantage with effective team play
both offensively and defensively. OSU amassed 25 assists to score
35 field goals while forcing 21 Bowling Green turnovers to go with
10 steals.
"I think we played well at both ends of the floor,"
said OSU Head Coach Jim Foster. "I think our defensive intensity
was good."
Bowling Green Head Coach Curt Miller was clearly impressed.
"They're loaded. They're a legitimate final-four
candidate team, and they played like it tonight. There's no doubt
that they're the odds-on favorite to win the Big Ten. They're
tremendously talented," Miller said.
The Falcons managed to stay in the game
early, thanks to an impressive 14-2 run they made to turn an early
6-0 Buckeye in a 14-8 Bowling Green lead. A media timeout at 14:46,
however, allowed Foster to substitute, and from that point on, the
Buckeyes took over.
"You don't always substitute for a negative,"
said Foster.
With this team, you can just throw a lot of different
looks at teams. We want to emphasize our defense. We wanted more pressure
on the ball and we thought we weren't getting it on the help side
that we would have liked, so we got a fresh group of people in there.
That's something a coach enjoys, to play a lot of players."
Foster brought in his defensive specialists and the
Buckeyes went on a 17-0 run that effectively ended the game.
"Their 17-0 run early in the first half took a
little wind out of our sails," said Miller.
OSU's ratcheted up the defensive pressure, creating
turnovers and steals. They also countered B.G.'s defensive strategy
of taking away center Jessica Davenport with deadly outside shooting.
The Buckeyes hit 66.7% of their three-point attempts in the first
half (six-of-nine) and seven-of-11 in the game.
"The game plan is to help on Jessica
Davenport, but they have one of the best three point shooters in the
country in Caity Matter. They proved tonight that they can make threes,"
said Miller.
"Jessica Davenport is such a good
player that she dictates your defense. Our game plan was to make this
team make shots. Well, when Ohio State makes shots, they can make
you look silly, and they made a lot of shots tonight. When they make
threes the way they're capable of making them, they're nearly unbeatable."
OSU's offense was impressive, but it
was their defense that impressed Miller the most.
"As good as their offense was, it
was their defense that just absolutely determined the game. They out-athleticismed
us, they out physicaled us, and we could not get penetration. They
played tremendously offensively in the second half, but their defense
won the game for them."
OSU led 37-23 at the half, but outscored
Bowling Green by a lopsided 52-18 margin in the second period. The
Buckeyes shot a sizzling 57.4% from the field and made 100% of their
free throws.
"Shot selection is a big deal with us," said
Foster.
"We spend a lot of time talking about what a good
shot for each individual is. What appears to be a good shot for one
is not a good shot for the other. They pay attention and for the most
part takes shots they should be taking."
Foster was clearly pleased with the win.
"They're (Bowling Green) a team that won 21 games,"
said Foster.
"They're a team that has post-season aspirations,
and they should have post-season aspirations. I just think we played
hard and with some intelligence."
OSU's Jessica Davenport and Ashley Allen led all scorers
with 17 apiece. No Falcon scored in double figures.
OSU outscored Bowling Green 12-0 in second-chance points,
12-0 on fast break points, 43-20 in bench points, and 30-10 in points
in the paint.
Game
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Box Score
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