The No. 7 Ohio State women’s basketball team is still keeping quiet about what led to the three-game suspension of starting point guard Samantha Prahalis, but OSU coach Jim Foster provided a timetable for when the secondary violation occurred.
Foster said he was aware of the violation as soon as it happened, which he said occurred between last season and this season. He said he was not aware that Prahalis would be suspended until it was announced the day before the Buckeyes began their season against Temple.
“I had no idea what the NCAA was going to do,” Foster said. “I spent little or no time thinking about what they were going to do, their philosophies about things like this. We just had to wait.”
During her suspension, Prahalis has been allowed to practice with the team but has not been allowed to travel to away games. During practice, Prahalis has been running with the Buckeyes’ second unit.
“She’s really been helping out. She hasn’t been negative about anything,” senior center Jantel Lavender said. “She’s really excited and anxious to come back, and we know she can help us.”
Without Prahalis in the lineup, sophomore shooting guard Tayler Hill has moved to point guard, and senior Alison Jackson has filled the vacant spot at the shooting guard position.
In the two games without Prahalis this season, Hill has averaged 14.5 points and 3.5 assists, playing in all 40 minutes of both games.
“She’s an athlete who likes challengers,” Foster said. “She’s taken advantage of the opportunity to do some things and see the game a little differently.”
The Buckeyes play LSU tonight. The Tigers are fresh off a loss to Northwestern in their season opener Sunday.
“LSU is athletic. They always have fast guards. They always have athletic post players,” Lavender said. “They’re probably going to be upset because they lost to Northwestern and try to get a win and come back at their house.”
Foster said he isn’t wasting time thinking about how the game could be different with Prahalis in the lineup.
“You don’t spend time dwelling on what you don’t have,” Foster said. “You have to coach what you do have.”