Ohio State Women's Basketball (2023-24 B1G CHAMPS)

[LitlBuck]

12/1 Noon

• Where: Value City Arena
• TV: none
• Radio: WBNS-AM (1460)
• Records: Ohio State 4-2, Evansville 2-4

• Matchup to watch: Evansville gave up 29 points on turnovers in a 73-57 loss to Tennessee-Martin on Wednesday. Look for the Buckeyes to mine that potential weakness with pressure from Amber Stokes, Tayler Hill and company.

• Notable: The Purple Aces have lost three straight, including a 73-55 game at Wisconsin on Nov. 25. Senior Samantha Heck, who led the team in scoring last season, is averaging 24 points and 10.5 rebounds over the past two games. … The Buckeyes’ four-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday in a 57-54 loss at North Carolina. Hill led Ohio State with 24 points and became the 14th player in program history with at least 1,500 points. The Buckeyes had 17 offensive rebounds. Ashley Adams had five of them to go with five blocked shots.

• Next: vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 1 p.m. Dec. 9, Value City Arena

 

[LitlBuck]

Perception met reality yesterday while the Ohio State women?s basketball players watched film of a 57-54 loss at North Carolina on Wednesday.

In real time, the game seemed to play out in spurts and blurs as each team took turns dominating the up-tempo but low-scoring encounter.

On film, the story line became easier for the players to grasp and accept.

?Whoa, what stood out?? junior forward Darryce Moore said, in answer to a question. ?We made a lot of turnovers that should not have been made. We threw passes really high. We just realized it now while we watched it on film.?

When the 15th-ranked Buckeyes (4-2) rushed headlong into the hyper tempo that the Tar Heels wanted, bad things happened. North Carolina scored 19 points on the 22 Ohio State turnovers.

?I was definitely rushed,? Moore said. ?I can say that for myself. I feel like most of us didn?t take our time.?
Within the whirlwind of real time, perception sometimes doesn?t match reality.

?Sometimes, when (coach Jim Foster) takes you out, you have to step back and say, ?Calm down,? ? Moore said. ?In the game, it?s like, da-da-da-da. You just have to keep playing. Eventually you?ll calm down.?

Foster wanted the film session to do more than show what went wrong before today?s noon game against Evansville (2-4) in Value City Arena. He wanted the players to see how to defeat a team with North Carolina?s speed.

?That?s what I want to play against,? he said. ?That?s how you get better, in my opinion.?

More Foster's Message

 

[LitlBuck]

That was fast

Ohio State held Evansville scoreless for the first 11 minutes and 47 seconds of the second half and rolled over the Purple Aces 78-33 today in Value City Arena.

During the offensive nightmare, Evansville missed16 shots and committed seven turnovers. The 15th-ranked Buckeyes (5-2) were 10 for 15 from the field while stretching the lead to 63-23 before Meagan Collins finally scored a field goal for the visitors, who scored 10 points after the break.

Tayler Hill went to the bench for the Buckeyes with a game-high 20 points with 7:12 left in the game. Center Ashley Adams added 14 points for the Buckeyes. Making her first start at point guard, freshman Ameryst Alston scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three assists.

The Buckeyes pushed out to a 40-23 first-half lead behind a stifling defense and 63-percent shooting performance from the field.

Ohio State led 1-0 before the opening tip because Evansville (2-5) drew an administrative technical foul for not writing its starting lineup in the official scorebook. Hill split the two free throws.

The 15th-ranked Buckeyes established their physical dominance early when Amber Stokes stole the ball and fed Ameryst Alston for a layup. Hill followed with a steal and layup that gave Ohio State a 7-3 lead with 17:36 to play in the half. The Purple Aces stayed in contact by hitting three three-pointers in the opening minutes and trailed 19-13 with 11:35 to go.

More Dispatch

 

[LitlBuck]

Ohio State coach Jim Foster made two changes to his lineup on Saturday in a 78-33 drubbing of Evansville.

He started freshman Ameryst Alston at point guard for the first time, a move that is written in cement. The steady and smooth Alston allows Foster to move senior Tayler Hill to shooting guard, which is where he wanted her all along.

Sophomore Raven Ferguson now becomes a sub for senior Amber Stokes, Hill or Alston as the flow of the game dictates. Ferguson and sophomore Maleeka Kynard give Foster credible depth in the backcourt. Freshman Cait Craft also looks interesting in limited play since she has returned from the aftereffects of a concussion.

The other move was more of a surprise. Foster started fourth-year junior Aleksandra (Sasha) Dobranic at power forward over junior Darryce Moore. Dobranic, who redshirted between her freshman and sophomore seasons, has played sparingly in her time with the Buckeyes.

She had never played for more than 14 minutes in her 37 previous appearances but reached 13 minutes against the Purple Aces. The slender, 6-foot-5 native of Nova Sad, Serbia, however, is who Foster wants to complement junior center Ashley Adams right now. Others are in the wings.


?We want some high-post players that can knock down some shots,? Foster said. ?Sash, Martina (Ellerbe), Emilee Harmon and Amy Scullion can all shoot the ball from the high post. They just have to start to get in a comfort zone. I think Sash did.

More Buckeye

 

[LitlBuck]

For those that care

Thirty seconds felt like all the time in the world while the Ohio State women?s basketball team disassembled Lafayette one possession at a time yesterday at Value City Arena.

Ohio State moved the ball around Lafayette?s zone defense and found gaps to the basket as easily as a garden hose spraying a chain-link fence. Added to the physics of bigger, stronger and faster, the final score of 81-41 hardly counted as a surprise.

The 20th-ranked Buckeyes (6-2) were pleased to do what they were supposed to do to an underdog at the tail end of an exam week.

?I love the fact that we stayed together between the ears,? OSU coach Jim Foster said. ?That?s a coach?s biggest fear at exam time ? your concentration being in other places.

?One of the ways you judge the maturity of your team is how they handle that situation in my mind. I think we did a very good job of that today.?

The Buckeyes dominated every facet of the game with patient play. Perhaps the best statistic showed 24 assists on 31 baskets. That tied into how well the ball moved and why the team shot 56.4 percent from the field against the Leopards (3-7).

?This is a game not just for the starters, but for the players coming off the bench to really focus on their weaknesses and the weaknesses as a team that we can carry over into games,? co-captain Tayler Hill said. ?So when we do play a great team or enter into the Big Ten, it?s there. It comes natural.?

Dispatch

 

[LitlBuck]

Amber Stokes and her father Ron

A few minutes before tipoff, Ron Stokes slid into a seat along press row in Value City Arena and set up a temporary office that included a singular perk.

He unpacked his iPad, set down some notes and looked toward the far basket where the Ohio State women?s team warmed up for its game against Lafayette.

Stokes, a former OSU player and current radio analyst for the men?s basketball team, had come to watch his daughter, Amber, play for the Buckeyes.

The two are the only father-daughter combination to wear Ohio State basketball uniforms in program history.

She always knows when he is alone in the press section or with her mother, Lavita, in regular seats.

?Yeah, I look over at him occasionally,? said Amber, a fifth-year senior. ?It?s always good that he?s here.?

Her father will watch quietly while his daughter plays a style of on-the-ball defense that is hauntingly familiar to fans who watched him play for the Buckeyes from 1981 to ?85.

Yet, Ron scarcely moved when she stripped a Lafayette player of the ball and knifed to the basket for a layup. Amber knows that reaction as well.

?He?s pretty relaxed during games,? she said.

Seemingly at some point in a game, the 5-foot-10 Amber will rise for the rebound high enough to touch the rim with her fingertips. The crowd will react in the same excited manner that it did when her father, a 5-11 guard with scary hops, slammed home a dunk.

?The first time I dunked I was in the ninth grade,? Ron said. ?I was probably about 5-91/2 then. The last time was six years ago when I was 43. So there are similarities between us.

?There is obviously a difference between men and women athletically, but she has exceptional leaping ability. When somebody grabs a rebound, people marvel at two things ? the player?s ability to get from point A to point B, and to elevate. Those are definite advantages for her.?

More Dispatch

 

[LitlBuck]

Ohio State at Washington State

3 p.m. today
? Where: Beasley Coliseum, Pullman, Wash.
? TV: None
? Radio: WBNS-AM (1460)
? Records: Ohio State 6-2, Washington State 2-5

? Matchup to watch: Pressure produced 32 points off turnovers for Fresno State in an 82-59 victory over Washington State on Nov. 30. Ohio State is forcing an average of 23 turnovers a game while limiting opponents to 49.5 points. Look for the Buckeyes to force the tempo.

? Notable: The Buckeyes defeated the Cougars 79-57 on Dec. 22, 2011, in Columbus. Washington State coach June Daugherty and associate head coach Mike Daugherty, her husband, played for Ohio State. The Cougars had two weeks off for exams after losing at Fresno State. They have lost three of their past four games. ? The Buckeyes defeated Lafayette 81-41 on Sunday and are 6-0 at home. They are seeking their first road victory after losing to Notre Dame on a neutral court and to North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Tayler Hill moved into 13th place in program history with 1,539 points. Courtney Coleman (1999-2003) is next on the list at 1,540.

? Next: at Gonzaga, 9 p.m. Monday

Preview

 

[Bestbuck36]

So disappointing to lose to Wazzu. The girls have talent but it seems like every year they tend to go into a funk for some reason. They have speed this year more than I can remember and thats after losing Sammy. I hope they can get it together and go on a tear during conference and build towards the post season.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Trying to help LitlBuck out.



Buckeyes answer the call, defeat Gonzaga 65-60

Tayler Hill leads the Buckeyes with a season-high 25 points in the win


Tayler Hill scored 25 and hit all 12 of her free throw attempts.

Dec. 18, 2012

SPOKANE, Wash. - Ohio State rebounded in a big way Monday night as they grinded out a 65-60 win at Gonzaga in front of a raucous crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center.

It marked only the 14th loss at home for Gonzaga since 2004 when the building opened.

Tayler Hill also came back strong, putting the Buckeyes on her back after a sub-par performance Saturday at Washington State. Hill scored a season-high 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and went 12 of 12 from the free throw line. She also added three assists and a key steal in the final minutes to help seal the win.

The Buckeyes (7-3) led by seven, 54-47, with 5:53 left before Gonzaga (9-3) went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 54-54 with 3:49 left. After a timeout, senior Amber Stokes drilled a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down to give the Buckeyes breathing room.

Things then got wild in the final minute. Down five, 61-56, with 31 seconds left, Gonzaga scored four points in four seconds. After GU's Taelor Karr made the first of a one and one, Gonzaga grabbed the offensive rebound after she missed the second and Haiden Palmer immediately drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 61-60 with 26 seconds left.

more...

 

[LitlBuck]

So disappointing to lose to Wazzu. The girls have talent but it seems like every year they tend to go into a funk for some reason. They have speed this year more than I can remember and thats after losing Sammy. I hope they can get it together and go on a tear during conference and build towards the post season.

I have not seen them play yet this year but I don't think they're going to go very far this season and unless Foster gets his act together and pulls a major recruiting coup they are not going to be very good next year with Hill and Stokes graduating. I think he has zero recruits for next year which is not good. During the season for some reason or another his teams seem to be so up and down.

 

[LitlBuck]

For those that care

The Ohio State women’s basketball team reached the Christmas break in a celebratory mood last night by decking the halls with Southern University in a 73-50 win in Value City Arena.

The 24th-ranked Buckeyes (8-3) didn’t let up, because they still haven’t forgotten what happened to them in a 62-55 upset loss at Washington State last Saturday.

The lesson of taking nothing for granted against a sub-.500 team seems fixed in the minds of the players.
“I promise the Washington State game is where I think we changed,” sophomore guard Raven Ferguson said. “The bench is more enthusiastic. We’re focused. We’re watching the game.

“I think that Washington State game woke a lot of us up to what is coming. The Big Ten is coming, so we’re focused now.”

The Buckeyes never trailed against the Jaguars (1-10) and led by as many as 27 points in the second half. The big lead enabled coach Jim Foster to give double-figure minutes to 10 of his 11 healthy players.

Ten players scored, led by senior co-captains Tayler Hill and Amber Stokes with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

More Dispatch

 

[LitlBuck]

At 6-6, Lisa Blair is the tallest player on the Ohio State women?s basketball team and the author of a triple-double by averaging 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots during her senior season at Nazareth Regional High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blair works as hard in the weight room and the practice gym as any of her teammates but won?t play in a game as a freshman in what will become a redshirt season.

It?s a mutual decision between her and OSU coach Jim Foster. Blair didn?t begin taking basketball seriously until her junior year in high school and admittedly is a project.

?You can?t teach size,? Foster said. ?She has only played the game three years. She?s working on skills, just everyday skills. She?s learning how to shoot, how to catch, how to shoot over both shoulders and how to play low and then get big. There are a million little nuances.

?Could she help us in situations this year? Yes. Can you envision her running around as a 23-year-old grad student? Without a doubt you can. It?s in her best interest.?

More Dispatch

 

[LitlBuck]

Ohio State has women's basketball

At times last night, Ohio State’s players moved the basketball around Virginia Commonwealth’s defensive zone faster than the queen of hearts disappears in a game of three-card monte.

The Rams never quite caught onto the dizzying pace while losing to the Buckeyes 88-50 at Value City Arena.

The outcome essentially was settled seven minutes into the no-contest. VCU (6-7) missed its first 14 shots and fell behind 16-2. The Buckeyes (9-3) never took their feet off the accelerator even as coach Jim Foster cleared his bench in the second half.

Tayler Hill led the assault with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists with no turnovers. After the game, she scanned a box score filled with similar lines for her teammates and picked out her favorite numbers.

“Probably the assists to how many buckets we made and the turnover category,” she said. “It’s been a point of emphasis since the beginning of the year. We’ve got to stop turning the ball over.”

The Buckeyes logged a season-high 26 assists, which is a major reason they shot 56.9 percent (37 of 65). They also posted a 17-0 edge on fast-break points and a 20-8 margin on points off turnovers.

More Dispatch

 

[Bestbuck36]

Awesome game from the Lady Bucks last time out. More of that please.

 

[LitlBuck]

2 p.m. today
• Where: Value City Arena
• TV: BTN.com
• Radio: WBNS-AM (1460)
• Records: Ohio State 9-3, Howard 5-5

• Matchup to watch: Howard senior guard Saadia Doyle, averaging 22.3 points, is the first big-time scorer that the Buckeyes will face since Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins in the season opener. Doyle scored 36 at No. 10 Penn State in a 72-61 loss in November. OSU’s defense will have a chance to see if it can do better.

• Notable: The Lady Bison opened the season with four straight road losses but has won five of its past six games, including a 55-51 victory at Pepperdine on Dec. 21 in which Doyle scored 25. Senior point guard Cheyenne Curley-Payne is averaging 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals. … OSU dismantled VCU 88-50 on Thursday and is 7-0 at home this season and has won a program-record 30 consecutive home games. OSU totaled a season-high 26 assists in the victory, with six each from Amber Stokes and Darryce Moore.

• Next: at Iowa, 6:30 p.m. Thursday

Preview