The Ohio State women’s basketball team has been dominant over the last six years thanks to the players that chose to attend OSU over all other schools. This year’s graduating senior class has had immense success on the court because of that choice.

The four graduating seniors are guards Cherise Daniel, Shavelle Little, Maria Moeller and center Andrea Walker. They have had success as individuals, but as a whole, these four women have enjoyed more success than almost any other class in OSU’s history.

Their career, regular season record is 106-20, including 58-12 in Big Ten play. Their 106 wins as a class is only three shy of the OSU record of 109.

Regular season success is necessary and important, but many judge teams on postseason performances and this class has had success in that arena as well.

They have made the NCAA Tournament in each of their four seasons on the team — one of nine classes in OSU history to do so. They have reached the Sweet 16 once.

As it is with every senior class on every team in every sport, they have played a bigger role on this team than on any other they have been a part of. They are now the leaders off the court for their team, maybe the most important role in sports.

“When I first got here, they were really welcoming,” sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis said. “If I needed help, they would help me. I think they’re great seniors and they were great last year too. … I don’t want to see them go. It’s just sad.”

Prahalis isn’t the only future All-American they influenced. Junior center Jantel Lavender loves the seniors’ sense of humor and their ability to make everything fun.

“I really enjoy all of our seniors. I could name something about every single one of them that I really enjoy,” Lavender said. “I just think that they bring so much to the team as far as sarcasm, being funny, being fun … they can just lighten up a room when they come in. … The team will really miss them in that aspect.”

The seniors know that they made the right decision to come OSU, but none of them feel that the journey is over yet. Even with all of the success they have been a part of, they still want more out of their postseason play.

“I’ve had an amazing experience here at Ohio State with the class that I came in with,” Little said. “Right now our main focus is for us to continue to get better and go as far as we can. … We’re setting goals for the Big Ten [Tournament] and the NCAA [Tournament].”

Since they have been to three straight NCAA Tournaments, the seniors know what it takes to be successful there. Because of that, they are very excited with this year’s team and what they can accomplish.

“I think we have everything that we need to go all the way,” Walker said. “Everyone understands what they need to do and how hard we have to play. I think this team is, out of all the teams, the most [capable].”

All of the seniors believe this team has what it takes to make a statement in the postseason. With the successful teams that these women have been part of, their strong opinions carry a lot of weight.

“I think this is the most talented team I’ve been on since I’ve been here,” Moeller said.