Ohio State 63 Hartford 45
Buckeyes vent frustration on Hartford
OSU's pressure defense sparks victory, atones for loss Sunday
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 3:21 AM
By
Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
James D. DeCAMPDISPATCH
Ohio State's Andrea Walker (51) looks for a shot in a crowd of Hartford defenders in the first half. Walker scored eight points off the bench.
The players on the Ohio State women's basketball team took 48 hours to process how they felt about their first loss of the season, an 87-80 overtime disappointment Sunday at Auburn.
Then the 20th-ranked Buckeyes (4-1) turned the leftover frustration into the kind of defensive heat that turned the Hartford Hawks (3-2) crispy brown during a 63-45 win last night in Value City Arena.
The turnaround, which featured a 22-point, 10-rebound performance by sophomore center Jantel Lavender, had everything to do with ball pressure. The Buckeyes simply didn't let the Hartford guards breathe, let alone set up an offense.
"We came out for this game hungry and more fired up," said Lavender, the Big Ten player of the week. "You can't come out and let a team be more intense than you when you know you have more talent."
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