The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary » Katie Smith

THE Buckeye Legend in Women’s Sports: Katie Smith

WVaBuckeye — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:50:44 +0000

I guess in a way you could say it was fate that drew me to Katie Smith. Born Katherine May to John and Barbara Smith and with two brothers John and Tom who both played college sports. I started following her just prior to her signing with Ohio State while finishing a stellar high school career at Logan High School.

I say fate because right away, I was a fan of women’s basketball – mostly because of her. There were other reasons and the big one came in the size of my own daughter playing guard and reminding me of her in just about all aspects of women’s basketball. Hustle, tenacity, intensity and talent all express what makes up my daughter’s basketball identity. They also remind me of my favorite parts of Katie’s game.

Katie began her life of basketball in Logan, Ohio – terrorizing boys on the court. Needing … [Read More]

B1G Dominance: OSU Women’s Basketball Part One ’65 – ’97

WVaBuckeye — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:07:07 +0000

This is the first in a two part series about Ohio State women’s basketball and it’s bookend dominance of the B1G since play began in 1982. I will be highlighting the B1G champs during their dominance as well as some very special players and coaches at OSU in the last thirty years.

Let’s get things started with the eighties and how the Lady Buckeyes led the way. They won 7 of the first 8 titles in the B1G and 8 overall in the early era. If you include the ones that aren’t officially counted by the B1G they won 11 since the 1975-76 seasons.

The Lady Buckeyes really got started in the 1965-66 season under the direction of Phyllis Bailey as they made the transition from an intramural team to big time college basketball. The ERA movement was in full swing and the ladies were moving into the sports realm with basketball being one … [Read More]

THANK YOU!!! Sammy Prahalis – A Lesson in Point Guarding Revisited

WVaBuckeye — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:07 +0000

Thank you Sammy Prahalis for four wonderful years as the point guard for THE Ohio State women’s basketball team. You are going to be missed!!!

As Sammy starts her next phase of basketball in her life with the Phoenix Mercury, she’ll playing with arguably the best in the game in Diana Taurasi. We revisit my article from February 16th. Then a recap of her career and what she’ll mean to the Mercury. Thank you to Grant Edgell for the artwork.

If all you ever knew about Ohio States starting point guard was that she was the only player in tOSU women’s basketball history to score 1,000 points and give out more than 700 assists? It would probably be more than enough. One things for sure, she has definitely given a great lesson in point guarding.

Sammy stepped in as a freshman and let people know she was serious. She went on … [Read More]