Buckeyes Prevail
March 20, 2004 12:44 PM | General
March 20, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jessica Davenport scored 22 points and Caity Matter added 15 to lead Ohio State to a 73-67 victory over West Virginia in an NCAA tournament first round game at St. John’s Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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| Yolanda Paige finds an open player underneath the basket during Saturday's NCAA tournament game against Ohio State in Columbus. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
Davenport made 10 of 11 field goal attempts all from close range against the much smaller Mountaineers. Forward LaToya Turner scored 10 points and hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
“Today to me it was their will from the three-point line and our will in the post,” said Ohio State coach Jim Foster. “I thought our kids made some good adjustments defensively and their threes got a little bit tougher.”
Ohio State’s game plan was evident the very first time down the floor when the Buckeyes got the ball to the foul line to 6-foot-5 Jessica Davenport and she dumped it down inside to 6-foot-3 LaToya Turner for an easy lay up.
All 15 of Ohio State’s first-half field goals came from about six feet or closer to the basket.
“To Ohio State’s credit they did what they had to do,” said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. “They were very patient, tried to kick it in and if we helped too much they had wide open shots outside.”
The Buckeyes led 11-7 before West Virginia found its shooting touch from outside. Sherell Sowho nailed a three from the corner and a pair of transition baskets by Kate Bulger gave the Mountaineers their first lead, 14-13, with 13:15 remaining.
Another three by Sowho tied the game at 17 and back-to-back baskets by Meg and Kate Bulger gave West Virginia a five-point advantage.
West Virginia built its lead to as many as seven, 38-31, on Sowho’s three-point play under the basket. Turner picked up her second foul of game on the play and spent the remainder of the half on the bench.
Despite the absence of Turner, Ohio State was able to put on a 7-0 run over the remaining 2:26 to tie the game right before halftime on a driving lay up by Caity Matter that resulted in a three-point play.
The Buckeyes had a chance to regain the lead right before the end of the half but Meg Bulger was able to get a tie up with 3.4 seconds left.
Leading 42-40 at the start of the second half, Ohio State put up five straight points when Matter nailed a three and a pair of Turner free throws gave the Buckeyes a 47-40 lead.
“We had what we wanted but there was a couple of stretches where our shots weren’t falling and that was the difference in the game,” said Carey.
West Virginia fought back to tie it at 47 with 13:54 remaining on a pair of jumpers by Paige and one of two free throws from Meg Bulger, but Ohio State answered with its best run of the game. The Buckeyes went on an 11-3 spurt over the next six minutes to build an eight-point, 58-50 advantage.
Ohio State got its biggest lead of the game at 10, 67-57, on a pair of Matter free throws with 3:34 remaining.
The Mountaineers made one last run, cutting Ohio State’s lead to five, 67-62 on lay ups by Carter and Meg Bulger and a three by Paige, but the Buckeyes made their free throws down the stretch.
“We were getting a lot of good looks but the thing they were doing in the second half was overloading a little more on our shooters,” said Carey. “The middle was wide open and we had our opportunities and we got it in but we couldn’t convert them.”
Ohio State made 25 of 50 field goals (50 percent) and was 22 of 34 from the foul line. West Virginia finished 23 of 62 from the floor (37.1 percent) and shot 19 fewer free throws than the Buckeyes, making 11.
“We got a lot of good looks,” said West Virginia coach Mike Carey. “Kate Bulger shot 13 threes and if we could have gotten 13 more we would have let her shoot them.”
Senior Kate Bulger finished her outstanding WVU career with a team-high 18 points. Sister Meg Bulger and Sowho contributed 14 while Paige had 13 points and seven assists for WVU.
“I thought that was a well-played basketball game,” said Carey. “It was an exciting game up and down the floor.
“I give our young ladies a lot of credit,” Carey added. “We’re out there battling against 6-5, 6-2 and 6-3. If I can get a team to play as hard as they did this year and improve the talent a little bit then we’re going to have a great program here at West Virginia. These young ladies played hard and gave us every thing they had and as a coach it makes you very proud.”
Ohio State improves to 21-9 and takes on the winner of today’s second game featuring Boston College and Eastern Michigan on Monday.
West Virginia finishes its season with a 21-11 record.
