Women's basketball: Buckeyes get out and run right by Illini
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 3:18 AM
By Jim Massie
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- A season ago, the Illinois women's basketball team posed some physical questions to Ohio State in three Big Ten games that left the Buckeyes out of breath and speechless.
For a while last night in Assembly Hall, the Illini appeared to be pushing conference-leading Ohio State in the direction of a third consecutive loss in the series.
Then the 15th-ranked Buckeyes (14-2, 5-0) introduced their new, more athletic selves to Illinois (4-12, 0-6) and all thoughts of an upset vanished during a 67-35 rout.
Ohio State crushed the Illini in the second half with a blistering performance that displayed weapons that really didn't exist a year ago.
"We're just a new team," sophomore center Jantel Lavender said. "We just have a whole different look this year. We just came in to play how we play this year. Last year was last year. We're a different team, I think."
Continued