Buckeye Blogger Network
Amber Stokes hit possibly the biggest three pointer of her career to help lead Ohio State over Gonzaga.
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 7th 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 in the half. The officials timeout didn’t help OSU’s shooting and the Bulldogs took advantage, going on a 9 to 2 run to open up a 15-6 lead with nine minutes on the clock. A quick four points by the Buckeyes cut the lead to five but Gonzaga answered right back to push the lead back to nine, 19-10. Ohio State finally got something going on offense, getting out and running after pulling down some big defensive rebounds as they went on an 11 to 2 run to tie the game at 21 with three minutes remaining before the break. The Bulldogs quickly retook the lead but the Buckeyes scored the final four points of the half to take their first lead of the game and go into halftime leading 25-23.
Redshirt junior Aleksandra Dobranic got her second straight start in the Buckeyes easy victory over Lafayette.
After a week off to study for final exams, the #20 Ohio State women’s basketball team returned to action today as they hosted Lafayette. This was an important tune-up game for the Buckeyes who will have another long break to finish up their final exams before they head west on a road trip that will see them face Washington State and Gonzaga on December 15 and 17.
The Buckeyes got off to a great start as Tayler Hill hit a three pointer on the opening possession and OSU jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the first tv timeout. The two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes and OSU led 22-13 with just over eleven minutes remaining in the half. At this point the Buckeye defense clamped down, determined to not let the Leopards hang around; the results was seven scoreless minutes from Lafayette while Ohio State scored 14 straight points to open up a 36-13 lead with four minutes remaining in the half. Both teams struggled to score over the last few minutes, missing shots and turning the ball over, and the Buckeyes went into halftime leading 38-16.
Tayler Hill put up 23 points and Martina Ellerbe added a career high 10 points as OSU beat St. Francis.
While other Ohio State students were preparing for the annual Mirror Lake jump, the Ohio State women’s basketball team was at work as they hosted St. Francis (PA). Before the game it was announced that center Ashley Adams would not be playing due to a leg injury, joining freshman guard Cait Craft as players out of action due to injury. Sophomore Darryce Moore moved from her normal starting four spot to the center position and junior Martina Ellerbe got the start at forward.
Moore and Ellerbe wasted no time in showing that they are comfortable on offense in their new roles tonight as they combined for six points in the opening minutes as Ohio State took an 8-4 lead three minutes into the game. St. Francis showed they weren’t a pushover though, scoring the next five points to take a 9-8 lead with fifteen minutes to go in the half. The Buckeyes responded with a 10 to 3 run that put them up 18-12 with just under eleven minutes remaining in the half. The Red Flash slowly chipped away at the lead and pulled within three, 23-20, with five and half remaining before the break. The two teams traded baskets for the rest of the half with St. Flash pulling within a point but Ohio State managed to hit the last basket of the half and go into the locker room up 32-29.
Darryce Moore scored a career high 16 points as the Buckeyes cruised to an easy win.
Today was a busy day for Ohio State sports and women’s basketball got into the act as they hosted Winthrop. Today’s game was a bit different in that it was played at St. John Arena, one of the two games that must be played there this season since it was selected to host NCAA tournament games this year. Personally I am a fan of games in St. John, while the Schott is nice looking, it is too big and not well designed for basketball which really kills the atmosphere; St. John is more compact, louder, and just produces a better atmosphere in my opinion.
Ohio State started the game with some hot outside shooting as Tayler Hill and Raven Ferguson each hit two three-pointers in the first three and a half minutes to help OSU jump out to a quick 14-2 lead. Winthrop finally got its offense going a bit at that point and the two teams traded baskets for the next eight minutes. With the Buckeyes up 23-16 with eight minutes remaining in the half, OSU scored 8 unanswered thanks to a pair of three pointers by Hill, she assisted on the Martina Ellerbe basket the provided the other two points. The two teams traded baskets for a few minutes again before Ohio State closed out the first half with a 10 to 0 run to give themselves a 43-20 halftime lead.
Michigan ended Ohio State's perfect season, adding more fuel to the rivalry.
Sorry for the very late posting of this article, I was traveling for a conference yesterday and did not a get chance to write this until now.
After never losing to Michigan during the first 8 years of his stay at Ohio State, Jim Foster has seen the rivalry take a turn for the worse. The Wolverines swept the Buckeyes last season, helping to end OSU’s streak of Big Ten titles. Yesterday the Buckeyes headed to Ann Arbor looking for some revenge, however things did not go as planned.
The first half was a great back and forth battle with several lead changes and even more ties. Ohio State lead 26-25 with just over three minutes remaining in the half but Michigan went on a 7 to 0 run over the next three minutes and the two teams went into the locker room with the Wolverines leading 32-27. Michigan carried that momentum into the second half by opening with an 11 to 3 run that gave them a 43-30 lead with just under fourteen minutes remaining in the game. The Buckeyes managed to end the run but Michigan kept building its lead, eventually being up 56-37 with nine minutes left on the clock. Ohio State looked like they were about to get run out of the building but suddenly managed to step up their defense as the scored 9 straight to cut the lead to 56-46 and make it a game again. The Wolverines quickly stretched the lead back to 14 but the Buckeyes answered and cut the lead to 62-57 with three minutes remaining in the game. Suddenly Ohio State seemed to have the momentum and looked like they were going to pull off another one of their comeback victories. Unfortunately things did not work out that way as Ohio State’s offense turned cold again and Michigan managed to salt the game away with free throws, winning 73-62 and handing OSU its first loss of the season.
