The Lady Buckeyes have reached the midway point of the 1998-99 season, and coach Beth Burns has guided the team to its No. 23 ranking, its first ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in four years. The Buckeyes success can be attributed to a variety of factors. The emergence of Burns’ first recruiting class is one.Three freshman guards, Lauren Shenk, Tomeka Brown and Laura Ingham have each contributed significantly this season coming off of the bench.Shenk provides the Buckeyes with strong outside shooting, presently second on the team with 19 three-pointers, and the team’s third leading scorer with 9.3 points per game. She has led the team in scoring three times this season, scoring 17 points in games versus Hawaii and Wisconsin.Brown is one of the top reserves on the team. She is an extremely athletic player with a crossover dribble that the NBA’s Allen Iverson would be jealous of.Ingham was touted as the most celebrated player in Alaska girls basketball history, earning back-to-back honors as Alaska State Player of the Year while averaging 32 points her senior year. With the Buckeyes, she is more defensive minded, spelling relief at the point for Jamie Lewis this season.Burns’ recruiting class for the 1999-2000 season is projected by many women’s basketball authorities to be even stronger. Both the Blue Star Scouting Service and Women’s Basketball News Service rate this year’s recruiting class as No. 2 in the nation.A 6-foot-2-inch forward, Courtney Bale, who followed Burns from San Diego State, should help the Buckeyes next season.LaToya Turner, a 6-foot-4-inch center from Pickerington High School, is ranked No. 2 nationally at her position, and Tanya McClure, a 5-foot-6-inch guard from Gahanna Lincoln High School is currently ranked No. 7 nationally at her position.Ohio State has also secured two forwards, DiDi Reynolds, 6-foot-1-inch, from Hopewell Loudon High School, and D’wan Shackleford, 6-foot, from Newark High School.