For the first time this season, Marscilla Packer started a game on the bench. But do not count on coach Jim Foster revealing why anytime soon.
"It was a team decision," said Foster when asked immediately following the game.
Regardless, the senior guard took advantage of her reserve role and scored 16 crucial points to lead Ohio State to a 76-62 victory Sunday against Minnesota at the Schottenstein Center.
"I just wanted to get in and get moving," Packer said. "It was hard warming up and then sitting for a while."
She had a quiet first half, scoring her first field goal on a layup with just under a minute left. But an 11-point barrage during a three-minute span midway through the second half gave the Buckeyes (17-5, 8-3) their first double-digit lead and enough breathing room to put the Gophers (15-8, 6-5) away.
"Our intensity (and) our energy was up. There was a lot more emotion out of us (today)," Packer said.
With the Buckeyes leading 41-34 in a back-and-forth contest, Packer hit three 3-pointers in less than two minutes to lengthen the lead to 50-39. She later made a nice cut through the lane and smoothly hit a jumper, giving OSU a 54-41 advantage with just more than 12 minutes to play.
"I never see Pack that wide open," said junior guard Ashlee Trebilcock, who scored a game-high 19 points and added five assists. "I was probably more shocked than anything."
"You don't get that wide open often," said Packer, who last came off the bench Mar. 4 against Penn State during the Big Ten tournament because of a sprained ankle.
The Buckeyes controlled the tempo after the Gophers jumped out to a 10-4 lead. OSU forced 21 turnovers and scored 29 points off turnovers.
"Our defensive intensity really turned into a lot of good offense today," Trebilcock said.
However, Minnesota dominated OSU on the glass, out-rebounding the Buckeyes 41-25. The Gophers kept the game close until Packer's scoring binge grabbed numerous offensive rebounds and netted second-chance points.
Despite the rebounding discrepancy, the Buckeyes were more tenacious than the Gophers and avenged a 79-70 loss at Minnesota Jan. 24.
"The more physical and aggressive team won tonight," Minnesota coach Pam Borton said. "They took it right to us and played our game."
In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which will be formally celebrated Feb. 6, OSU female athletes were honored on court during three first-half time-outs.
The event is in its 22nd year and was created to remember Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, who died of Marfan's syndrome in 1986 while competing in Japan. Since then, the event has evolved into a broader celebration of women's accomplishments in sports and their struggle for equality in sports, according to the Web site created by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport.
The Buckeyes return to action Thursday at 8 p.m. at Purdue, followed by another road contest Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Wisconsin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kyle Clapham can be reached at clapham.6@osu.edu.
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