The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary » Aleksandra Dobranic

Thrilling Last Second Shot Propels Ohio State to Double Overtime Victory

Charles — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 05:23:20 +0000

After winning just their second Big Ten game of the year by beating Indiana on Super Bowl Sunday, the Ohio State women’s basketball team hosted Wisconsin in an attempt to finally get a conference winning streak going. This game also represented the first chance at revenge this season for the Buckeyes who lost in Madison last month thanks to a disastrous second half where OSU couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.

The first half was a tight, back-and-forth affair where neither team could get much breathing room in a very tough defensive battle where both teams really slowed down the pace of play. Wisconsin opened with a 6-2 lead only to see Ohio State tie it up at 6 after approximately six minutes of action. The Badgers would go back out front, 10-8 before the Buckeyes scored 7 straight to open up a 15-10 lead with just over … [Read More]

Losing Streak Continues As Ohio State Falls To Nebraska 62-53

Charles — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:11:55 +0000

After finally getting their first Big Ten win two weeks ago, Ohio State has lost two straight. The first loss was to hapless Wisconsin while the second was to a top 10 Penn State squad; the common aspect of both losses was disastrous second half collapses where the normally hot shooting Buckeyes couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. OSU’s 11-9 overall, 1-6 Big Ten, record made this game a must win if the Buckeyes want to make the NCAA tournament. The importance of this game was not lost on Coach Foster who tinkered with his starting lineup, inserting Maleeka Kynard and Aleksandra Dobranic into the lineup next to Tayler Hill, Ameryst Alston, and Ashley Adams.

In another new twist, Ohio State opened in a zone defense struggled to match-up well on the perimeter and Nebraska took advantage by hitting a quick trio of three pointers to take an 11-4 … [Read More]

Ohio State Beats Indiana For First Big Ten Win

Charles — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:18:54 +0000

Its only mid-January but for the Ohio State women’s basketball team tonight’s game against Indiana was a must win. An 0-4 start to Big Ten play, the worst in the history of the program, had led to OSU being dropped from the national rankings and had essentially destroyed any realistic hopes of winning a Big Ten title. Starting with tonight’s game the Buckeyes were battling for a first day bye in the Big Ten tournament and an NCAA tournament berth. OSU got a boost heading into this game as Tayler Hill and Maleeka Kynard both returned to action after sitting out last game due to illness.

Ohio State did not get off to a good start as they missed their first six shots from the field, taking more than three and a half minutes to hit their first field goal. Fortunately Indiana wasn’t really shooting any better and at the … [Read More]

Ohio State Falls To Minnesota 83-74

Charles — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:11:13 +0000

Sorry for this recap being late, have been at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach this week and due to various conference obligations I didn’t get a chance to cover the game earlier.

After starting Big Ten season with two losses, the Ohio State women’s basketball team headed to Minnesota looking for a much needed win. Making matters more difficult for the Buckeyes was the loss of senior guard Amber Stokes to a sprained knee against Illinois; Stokes is expected to be out four weeks but should return in time for the end of conference play. With Stokes out, Raven Ferguson got the starting nod; Darryce Moore also returned to the starting lineup, replacing Aleksandra Dobranic.

The two teams traded baskets for the first four minutes of the game but then Minnesota used a 10 to 2 run to open up a 19-9 lead just over seven minutes … [Read More]

Ohio State Concludes Non-Conference Play With 67-50 Win

Charles — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:24:58 +0000

The Ohio State women’s basketball team closed out 2012 and the non-conference portion of their schedule by hosting Howard today. Coming off of a dominating performance earlier in the week, the Buckeyes looked to continue their momentum heading into Big Ten play where the schedule will get tougher.

Ohio State opened the game hot from the floor and quickly jumped to a 17-5 lead in the opening nine minutes. Howard finally got their offense going at this point but their defense still couldn’t slow down the Buckeyes and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the half; OSU went into intermission leading 33-21. The Buckeyes built their lead thanks to shooting a scoring 63% from the field but 11 turnovers kept the Bison in the game.

Howard opened the second half with a pair of baskets to trim the Ohio State lead to single digits, 33-25. The two teams … [Read More]

Ohio State Dominates VCU 88-50

Charles — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:26:36 +0000

After a few days off to spend Christmas with their families, the Ohio State women’s basketball team was back on campus today to host Virginia Commonwealth. Upon returning to the Schott, the team found their familiar surroundings not as familiar as when they left due to a new court being installed. As I mentioned in last week’s hive, the new court harkens back to the old days of playing at St. John Arena with its outline of the state of Ohio in the middle of the court.

Ohio State showed no sign of any sluggishness from eating too many Christmas cookies during their break as they quickly jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. VCU would score the next five points to cut the Buckeye lead to nine but that would be the last time it would be a single digit game. The … [Read More]

Ohio State Cruises to an Easy 73-50 Win Over Southern

Charles — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 02:35:38 +0000

“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” is a popular holiday song and after a two game road trip to the state of Washington, the Ohio State women’s basketball team listened to the title of that song and returned home for a three game stretch to wrap-up the non-conference portion of the schedule. The Buckeyes kicked off the home stand today by hosting Southern University who came into this game looking for their second win of the year.

Ohio State got off to a hot start as Tayler Hill hit a pair of three pointers in the opening minute and center/forward Aleksandra Dobranic added four points to give the Buckeyes a quick 10-2 lead with just over two minutes off of the clock. While most people thought of Southern as just a sacrificial lamb, the Jaguars didn’t view themselves that way and they took advantage of some missed shots by the Buckeyes … [Read More]

Ohio State Earns Big Road Win Over Gonzaga, 65-60

Charles — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:31:15 +0000

Coming off a disappointing loss to a struggling Washington State team on Saturday, the Ohio State women’s basketball team wrapped up their state of Washington road trip with a trip to Gonzaga. Things did not look positive for the Buckeyes heading into the is one as they had not won a road game since January 2011 while Gonzaga had only lost two games so far this season, to top ranked Stanford and to 7^th ranked Louisville. Concern grew among Buckeye fans when Tayler Hill did not participate in pregame warm-ups due to a bruised heel, though she would still start.

Ohio State got off to a rough start, turning the ball over on three of their first six possessions and failing to hit a field goal for the first five minutes of the game but only trailed 6-4 at the first officials’ timeout with just under fifteen minutes remaining … [Read More]