If ever a game could be described as Dickensian, Ohio State’s 71-65 win over Indiana yesterday would have to be it. It was the best of first halves for OSU as it ran out to a 17-point lead, and then the worst of second halves as the Buckeyes let the Hoosiers nearly back into the ballgame. Throw in some bitter French nobles, and it would have been perfect.
The Buckeyes (12-7, 4-4 ) won their second game in succession as LaToya Turner led in scoring and rebounds with 19 points and nine boards. Freshman Jessica Davenport continued to light up the league as she scored 18 points and threw in five blocks. It was the fifth consecutive game that Davenport has scored in double-digits.
The Hoosiers allowed Davenport and Turner to combine for 9-of-13 from the field in the first half.
“They are growing in a lot of ways. Jessica is comfortable on the high post, and I think LaToya instills that by saying ‘Throw it to me, and I will catch it.’ Jessica’s concentration has gone up also,” OSU coach Jim Foster said.
Indiana coach Kathi Bennett was both complementary of Davenport’s and Turner’s play down low, but also critical of her team’s performance.
“The first half, I thought our post defense was atrocious. I thought we made adjustments in the second half that gave ourselves a chance,” she said. “(Davenport’s) excellent, she’s one of the best. She can dominate.”
In the first half, the Buckeyes simply obliterated the Hoosiers. OSU went on a 15-0 run, and Indiana at one point went 2-of-15 from the field. The Hoosiers couldn’t hold on to the ball either as they gave up 11 turnovers. Going into the locker rooms, the score was 38-23.
In the second half, Indiana was able to mount a comeback, mostly on the back of its free throw shooting. The Hoosiers went 16-of-18 from the line after shooting only two free throws in the first half. Forward Jenny DeMuth finished the game with 23 points after going 9-of-11 from the line, and guard Cyndi Valentin had 20 points while going a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
In contrast, OSU struggled from the free-throw line, especially early. In the first half the Buckeyes hit only 43.8 percent, and in the second half they managed to improve to 73.9 percent.
Despite that, the Indiana coach believed her team sent the Buckeyes to the line too much.
“You can’t put teams – especially on the road – on the free-throw line,” Bennett said. “To start the second half, I think we had six fouls in the first five minutes. You have to play smarter, and you can’t foul on the road. You can’t give them free shots. That’s something we’ve got to work on and get better at.”
Foster thought the increase in fouls called changed the face of the game.
“That was two games. The first half was one way, and the second half was another way,” he said. “I think that’s really tough. Is it easier to drive when the sun is out or when you’re in a blizzard?”
Davenport agreed with her coach’s assessment.
“In the first half we were going pretty fast, then it slowed down in the second half,” Davenport said. “It’s just something we have to adjust to.”
The rebounding battle was a closely fought one with Indiana pulling down two more rebounds than OSU.
“I didn’t feel like we rebounded like we could. We let (OSU) get some offensive rebounds,” Bennett said. “We’d play our butts off, and they would get it and turn it into something good.”
