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Dispatch
3/3/06
3/3/06
For OSU, defense is a real team effort
Wilburn won Big Ten’s top honor, but it takes more than one player
Friday, March 03, 2006
Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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INDIANAPOLIS — Big Ten coaches had 353 good reasons to choose Ohio State senior guard Kim Wilburn as the defensive player of the year. Wilburn is second all time in conference history with 353 steals and has helped spark an OSU defense that leads the nation in fewest points allowed at 51.9 per game.
Yet Wilburn is far from the only reason that Ohio State (25-2), the regularseason champion and the top seed in the conference tournament, has become the uniformed version of a migraine headache.
When OSU plays eighth-seeded Penn State (13-15) in the quarterfinals today in Conseco Fieldhouse, the Lions will have to look out for more than Wilburn.
Junior center Jessica Davenport, the two-time Big Ten player of the year, leads the conference in blocked shots, and senior forward Debbie Merrill would take a charge from a Chevy van. Senior point guard Ashley Allen also has emerged as a defensive on-the-ball stopper.
"I told the team that I thought Kim was one of four players that could have won that (defensive honor)," OSU coach Jim Foster said. "When you lead the country in something, it’s not one person. It’s a philosophy. But I’m really happy for Kim because I think she is sometimes not thought of in the terms she should be."
In Foster’s mind, the versatility of the defense makes the Buckeyes a notch better than his Big Ten co-championship team that lost to Minnesota in the semifinals a year ago.
"We were just easier to play, and it had to be a certain way for us to be successful," he said. "We can change defenses this year and not have to rely on just one. We can have some players maybe not play their best game and have other players pick them up. I think we’re a lot better."
Foster pointed to the regular-season finale Sunday at Penn State. The Lions charged to a 19-3 lead in the first half and still led by 17 with 14 minutes to play. But OSU’s defense refused to mail in the performance.
"That would not be acceptable at all," Allen said. "Yeah, we could have given up. That shows the pride we have to just pull up our shorts, play defense and win on a last-second shot."
Wilburn, who needs 19 steals to tie former Michigan player Stacey Thomas, had a similar take on the 61-59 win.
"Last year, we lost some close games that we should have pulled out," she said. "This year, we’ve proved that we have matured."
She also agreed that the defense is better this season.
"I’ve been here four years and I feel like every year I’ve gotten better defensively," Wilburn said. "Every year that you play in this program, you’re going to get better. So I do think we have a better defensive team because we are more experienced on the defensive end.
"We have Debbie Merrill, who has taken I-don’tknow-how-many charges.
Tia Battle is great defensively. We have a deep bench. Everybody is capable of doing the job. When (Foster) put Tia in the game Sunday, she had the ability to disrupt things. She got the greatest steal of the game."
Battle punched loose the ball from Penn State guard Brianne O’Rourke in the final 30 seconds to set up the winning shot. Allen got the credit.
"Oh, I know," Wilburn said. "They said Ashley got it. But (Tia) did her job. If you work hard, listen to what the coaches say, good things will come from it."
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Friday, March 03, 2006
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