Abigail Miner/The LanternOhio State freshman point guard Samantha Prahalis dribbles away from a Syracuse defender during the Nov. 19 game. OSU lost its first game of the season 87-80 in overtime at Auburn Sunday. OSU women’s basketball coach Jim Foster explained that it was likely the youth of his players combined with Auburn’s experience that caused OSU’s overtime letdown.
“I think they have been in the environment before and we’ve got to learn from it,” Foster said.
After freshman guard Samantha Prahalis missed a 3-point attempt at the end of regulation, the game entered overtime with a score of 75-75. However, the Buckeyes (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) were not able to pull it together in overtime, as they shot only 2 of 7 from the field and were outscored 12-5 in the extra period.
Foster said he thinks some defensive breakdowns were his team’s biggest problem.
“I thought we had it going offensively but maybe not to the level defensively that you need to,” Foster said.
On the offensive side, sophomore center Jantel Lavender once again put up big numbers – 20 points and 12 rebounds – for her fourth double-double of the season. Prahalis scored 15 to go with her eight assists and senior Star Allen scored 18 of her own. But the defense at the end of the game might have proven to be the deciding factor in the contest.
After falling behind four going into half, Auburn increased its lead to 11 just four-and-a-half minutes into the second. OSU went on a run of its own, however, outscoring Auburn 21-3 over the next eight minutes. The Buckeyes would hold on to that lead until Auburn’s Alli Smalley made her fifth 3-pointer of the game to tie the score at 75-75 with less than a minute to play. The game would be sent into overtime after Prahalis’ miss.
“I think she probably didn’t have a real good angle, but she had a good look,” Foster said of his freshman’s decision to shoot at the end of the game.
Smalley and senior teammate Sherell Hobbs exploited OSU’s defensive struggles, both scoring a game-high 23 points. Six of Hobbs’ 23 points came during overtime.
“We’ve got to be better defensively,” Foster said. “We have to take it more personally. It just has to matter to us more than it has.”
Ohio State will be back at the Schottenstein Center Tuesday against Hartford at 6:30 p.m.
Kyle Fischer can be reached at [email protected].
