For the first time all season, the Ohio State women’s basketball team blemished its home-white jerseys. After leading for most of the game, No. 1 seed OSU lost in overtime 66-63 to No. 4 seed MinnesotaSunday at the 2005 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis’ Consecoe Fieldhouse with just 3.9 seconds remaining, OSU’s sophomore center Jessica Davenport took an inbounds pass and fired a 3-point attempt that hit the backboard and bounced off of the rim. The 3-pointattempt was only Davenport’s fourth of the season.

“It got there, we got it off, there was an option there for (Caity Matter) too,” OSU coach Jim Foster said. “(Matter) didn’t make a certain cut and Jess has to make a decision.  If Caity is certain she (Davenport) gives her the ball and if she doesn’t the (Davenport) takes responsibility of the ball.”

The Buckeye defense had no answer for Minnesota sophomore forward Jamie Broback. Broback had a game high 24 points by shooting 10-of-14 from the field.

“It was a very physical basketball game,” OSU coach Jim Foster said. “They have a couple big strong kids and we didn’t do a very good job of defending them.”

Minnesota senior center Janel McCarville played very aggressiveand shut Davenport, putting up 21 points and grabbing a game high 15 rebounds.

“Defensively, I was trying to be a little bit more aggressive with (Davenport), a little bit more physical, keep her out of the lane, and pretty much try to deny her the ball,” McCarville said. McCarvillertmanaged to score her 1,000th career point on a shot off the glass over McCarville late in the half.vDavenport ended the game with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“It was a total team effort of playing defense on Jessica and shutting a player like her down,” Minnesota coach Pam Borton said. “This is a great win over a great basketball team.”

Buckeye senior Ashley Allen continued to have a great tournament as she poured in 11 points and had three steals in just the first half, but she managed only one more basket in the rest of the game.

The Buckeyes faced their first deficit of the game when McCarville capped off aMcCarville lay with a free throw, giving Minnesota a 34-33 lead. OSU answered right backOSUhough, when sophomore guard Brandie Hoskins drained a jumpeHoskinsthe paint to give the lead back to OSU.

Hoskins’s jumper OSUed a Hoskins’un in which Hoskins OSU seven points Hoskinsassist to Davenport. Hoskins nearly doubled heHoskinsge of points per game as she ended with a team high 23 points, 17 of them coming after the first half.

“If they take away something, they are giving us something else,” Hoskins said of Minnesota’sHoskinse. “I was just trying to get in the middle so I could make some plays for our team.”

Borton said she warned her teBortonore the game of how Hoskins can be a big threat. Hoskinsins is the x-factor on theiHoskins” Borton said.

With 3;37 left in the second half, Davenport had a big block on Minnesota’s sophomore guard Kelly Roysland which led to a fast breaRoysland by OSU’s junior guard/forward Tia BaOSU’s But the Gophers came right back and used an 8-2 run which sent the game intoovertime.

The Buckeyes must now wait to find out where they will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament later this month.