INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since 1995, the Ohio State women’s basketball team has advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game.
The Buckeyes last won a conference tournament in 1982 when it was a double-elimination tournament.
The No.-4-seeded Buckeyes knocked off top-seeded Penn State yesterday 72-61 at Conseco Fieldhouse. OSU will play Purdue at 7 tonight.
The win was sweet revenge for the Buckeyes. Earlier this season, OSU lost big at Penn State, falling 68-53.
But yesterday, OSU was hot from the field throughout the game, shooting 48 percent in the first half and 54 percent in the final half.
The game was tight throughout the first half when the Lady Lions took their first lead at 21-20.
The Buckeyes then went on a 13-3 run to take a 32-25 lead at the halftime. OSU forward DiDi Reynolds had three treys in the opening half.
That boded well for the Buckeyes, who were 17-1 when leading at the half.
In the second half OSU was able to maintain a comfortable lead, as Penn State never got closer than seven points.
The Buckeyes used a strong zone defense and used patience at the offense end, scoring many times with the shot clock running down. OSU also got contributions from a number of players, not allowing the Lady Lions to concentrate on stopping one player.
“We have so many threats on our team, it can be hard to stop us,” point guard Kim Wilburn said.
The Buckeyes out-rebounded the Lions 40-29 for the game, with forward D’wan Shackleford leading the way with 12 boards. Forward Courtney Coleman added eight rebounds.
“We played great defenses, and we did a good job of boxing them out and rebounding the ball,” Coleman said.
She gave credit to forward LaToya Turner as the key to the offense.
“LaToya allowed us to open the high-low game. We created a lot of mismatches for them,” Coleman said.
OSU women’s basketball coach Jim Foster said he noticed Turner’s presence opening up the Buckeyes’ game.
“Our play on offense has really improved — LaToya has been a key to that,” Foster said.
Turner had 15 points, behind Coleman’s team-high 19 points.
“It was a strange combination of players out there at times, but it turned out to be the right place, right time, right players,” Foster said.
OSU only turned the ball over nine times, which was a season low.
The Lady Lions were able to keep guard Caity Matter in check, limiting her to only one three-pointer. But Matter hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to keep Penn State at bay.
The Buckeyes got to the semi-finals by beating Michigan State on Thursday 71-55.
Tickets for tonight’s championship game are still available. With every ticket purchase, patrons will receive a free ticket.
