Purdue rolled over to allow the OSU women’s basketball team a share of the Big Ten title, but Minnesota was not giving the outright title to OSU so easily.

The Buckeyes (25-3, 13-2) withstood a valiant first-half effort by the Golden Gophers (12-13, 5-9) before pulling away for a 64-59 victory.

Everything went Minnesota’s way in the first half as its defensive efforts held OSU to only 35 percent shooting. This allowed the Gophers to hold the lead during the first 26 minutes of the game.

Coach Jim Foster tried to spark the Buckeye offense by mixing and matching different players off the bench, but nothing helped.

The answer ended up being the same as it has been all year: guard Samantha Prahalis.
Although Prahalis made just one shot in the first half, she scored nine points as she was 6-6 from the free throw line. She added five assists and three rebounds to help OSU keep it close going into halftime as Minnesota held a 32-27 lead.

The second half for OSU was like watching a completely different team. The offense was no longer stagnant, but fast and fierce.

The first lead of the game for OSU came on a Sarah Schulze 3-pointer with 14 minutes left in the game.

Foster then decided to go with a bigger lineup as he brought in 6-foot-5-inch Andrea Walker to overpower the Gophers and take pressure off of center Jantel Lavender, who battled foul trouble.

It remained close the rest of the game as the teams traded baskets, but in the end OSU had too much firepower.

Prahalis was the star of this game. Her aggressive play in the first half kept OSU in the game and her guidance in the second half gave them the lead and the win.

She finished the game with 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. She shot 12-12 from the free throw line.

Lavender and Walker controlled the paint in the last 10 minutes of the game and combined for 23 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.

Freshman Tayler Hill played her first game back in her home state of Minnesota and had one of her best performances of the season. She scored 13 points and helped OSU with great ball movement and control on the offensive end in front of many members of her family.

The win gives OSU its sixth consecutive conference crown, and its fourth outright title in that span. OSU clinched the No.1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which will be played in Indianapolis beginning March 4.