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Women's Basketball
Free Throw Efficiency Helps Lift Buckeyes over Badgers
By Tony Gerdeman

Center Jantel Lavender notched her 53rd career double-double, scoring 23 points and pulling down 12 rebounds and teammate Samantha Prahalis scored 25 points as the #7 Buckeyes (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) defeated the Wisconsin Badgers (18-8, 8-7 Big Ten) 83-78 in Madison.

A close game throughout--the two teams were never separated by more than five points in the first half--it was the Buckeyes’ aggression in the paint which led to a 28-8 free throw attempts advantage over the Badgers for the game.

Ohio State converted 21 of their 28 free throws, which helped to offset Wisconsin’s 70 field goal attempts and 38-31 rebounding advantage over the Buckeyes.

The second half never saw Ohio State trail, but every time they’d start to pull away, the Badgers would make a run of their own and cut the lead to just a couple of baskets. In fact, the Buckeyes built a 10-point lead at 74-64 with 3:14 remaining in the game, only to see Wisconsin go on a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to 76-74 with 34 seconds to play. The Badgers were forced to foul from that point on and the Buckeyes made seven of their eight free throw attempts to seal the game.

Ohio State Head Coach Jim Foster explained what his team did down the stretch to keep the Badgers just far enough away.

"I think we took care of the ball“, he explained to WOSU 820-AM. “It just turned into that kind of game. You’ve got to make foul shots and you’ve got to take care of the basketball. You’ve got to get the ball in the right people’s hands at the end of the game so that when you get to the foul line you’re taking advantage of your best shooters.”

Taking advantage of his team’s best shooters is exactly what Foster did. Twice Samantha Prahalis was fouled in the final 34 seconds with her team leading by just one score, and twice she knocked down both of her free throws, stretching the Buckeyes’ lead to a breathable extent each time.

For the evening, Prahalis was 8-8 from the foul line, extending her streak of consecutive free throws made to 47, which broke the school record of 40 by Katie Smith.

Guard Brittany Johnson added 15 points for the Buckeyes, going 3-5 from behind the three-point line. As a group, the Ohio State starters scored 81 of their team’s 83 total points.

Defensively, however, it wasn’t their best effort. Wisconsin shot 47.1% from the field, including 7-16 from behind the three-point line, and handed out 20 assists on their 33 field goals.

The Badgers had four players score in double-figures, including Taylor Wurtz, who came off the bench to score 18 points in 23 minutes on 7-8 shooting.

But Foster wasn’t surprised that Wisconsin played so well. In fact, they were prepared for it.

“The conversation before the game was that this team plays very, very hard, and we have to match their energy if we are going to win the basketball game. I think we did that. We played very, very hard and quite frankly, it’s the type of game I would like to see more of in the Big Ten.”

As long as the outcomes continue to favor the Buckeyes, of course.

Postgame Notes

- With six three-pointers made, the Buckeyes set a new season-record for three-pointers made with 192, breaking the old record of 191 set in 2004-2005.

- Ohio State leads the all-time series with the Badgers 43-14 and have won the last 16 overall. Wisconsin’s
last win over the Buckeyes was Feb. 25, 2001 in Madison, 81-62.

- Jim Foster has never lost to Wisconsin, Northwestern or Michigan in his career at Ohio State.

- Ohio State is 22-0 when scoring 70 or more points.

- Jantel Lavender has scored in double figures in all 95 career games, the longest active streak in Division
I.

- Lavender now has 53 double-doubles in her career, the most among active Big Ten players. The Buckeyes are 44-9 overall in her career when she records a double-double.

- Ohio State’s 26 wins are tied for the most in the nation with Connecticut.

Box Score

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