Ohio State
Northwestern
Buckeye bounce back, down Northwestern, 82-72 – Ohio State Buckeyes
1/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2012
Box Score | Photo Gallery | Game Highlights
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Tayler Hill scored 19 of her 24 points in the second half, eight during a 10-0 run that helped No. 11 Ohio State pull away from Northwestern for an 82-72 victory Thursday night.
Hill, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, helped the Buckeyes (16-1, 3-1) increase a 55-54 lead with a 3-pointer and layup off a turnover. After Aleksandra Dobranic’s jumper, Hill made it 65-54 with a steal that resulted in a layup and foul shot with 6:56 to play.
Hill iced the win on a 3-pointer 45 seconds remaining for a 78-69 advantage. Samantha Prahalis added 20 points and Amber Stokes 11 as the Buckeyes rebounded from their first loss Saturday at Michigan.
Prahalis set the tone in the opening 20 minutes with 14 points, hitting two 3-pointers along the way. Ohio State’s bench also came up big, combining for 18 points on 8 of 10 from the field, led by Darryce Moore’s seven points.
Dannielle Diamant had 23 points for Northwestern (11-6, 1-3). Ohio native Kendall Hackney scored 11 of her 15 in the second half.
The Buckeyes are back in action Sunday at Michigan State. Game time is 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Postgame Notes
- After scoring five points in the first half, junior guard Tayler Hill scored 19 in the second half for 24 points to lead all scorers. She was 8-for-14 from the field, including 2-for-4 from the 3-point line in the second half. Hill also grabbed seven rebounds.
- After dishing out six assists, Prahalis now is in second place all-time in the Big Ten with 827 career assists. Prahalis passed Penn State’s Tina Nicholson (826). For the game, Prahalis scored 20 points.
- For the sixth time this season, Prahalis and Hill have scored 20 or more points.
- Hill sparked a 10-0 run over 1:28 for the Buckeyes at the 8:09 mark in the second half with a 3-pointer to give Ohio State a 65-54 lead.
- Since the start of the 2004-05 season, Ohio State has amassed a 126-9 record at home and a 111-8 record at Value City Arena. The Buckeyes are 153-13 at home all-time under head coach Jim Foster.
- Since the start of 2004-05, the Buckeyes are 53-5 in Big Ten games at Value City Arena.
- Ohio State has now hit at least one 3-pointer in 104 consecutive games.
- For the sixth time this season, the Buckeyes shot 50 percent (51 percent) or better from the field for the game.
- For the seventh time this season, the Buckeyes scored 80 or more points.
- Ohio State outscored Northwestern, 30-10, in points off of turnovers.
- Ohio State’s bench combined for 18 points, led by sophomore forward Darryce Moore’s seven.
- Ohio State has made more free throws (273) than opponents have attempted this season (270). The Buckeyes are 14-0 this year and 102-9 since the start of the 2007-08 season when they make more than their opponents at the line.
Postgame Quotes
Joe McKeown, Northwestern head coach
On the game
“It was a really good game. I thought defensively we broke down at the wrong time. We kept making plays to get back in the game but we could never get the lead in the second half. It was a really good college basketball game that was well-played by both teams but I thought defensively we should have been better.”
On Ohio State
“They are as good of a backcourt as you are probably going to see, not just in the Big Ten, but in college basketball. They play like little kids on the playground and have that type of swagger right now.”
On how far Northwestern has come
“I like what we did here last year when we won. We have some great wins and we are tying to build a program with a foundation. We have a lot of young players and only one senior. Brittany Orban blew her ACL so that put us down at one senior. We are a really young team and we played that way some of the time tonight.”
On the Big Ten
“There are no nights off. Everyone is good and everyone can win any night. We just won at Indiana and that was a tough one to win. Nebraska is also coming in and having a great year.”
Samantha Prahalis, senior guard
On Ohio State’s bench play
“We had some people coming off the bench and they definitely made some big shots for us. Maleeka [Kynard], Sasha [Dobranic], Darryce [Moore], Martina [Ellerbe], Raven [Ferguson] and Emilee [Harmon] were all ready to come in and make a difference tonight.
On Northwestern
“I think they [Northwestern] moved the ball well. They are a good, solid team. When Taylor [Hill] pushed it [the score] up to 10, I was confident we had it. Northwestern is a great team.”
Tayler Hill, junior guard
On moving on from the loss at Michigan
“You don’t just erase a loss. You look at it and learn from it. We watched film and saw what we can improve. Every game our shots aren’t always going to be hitting. We just needed to sharpen up on defense.”
On if the team learned more from losing than winning
“I don’t think we needed to lose to learn, but we did and we learned from it. There were things we needed to point out. There were things we were lazy on. We weren’t paying attention to detail the way we needed to.”
Amber Stokes, junior guard
On tonight’s game
“We had more energy compared to the Michigan game. We also played as a unit, the ball was moving and we were getting hustle plays. We were just in it [tonight]. We were pretty upset about the Michigan loss and we knew we had to be better.”
On finishing the game with a strong second half
“Coach Foster talked to me with seven minutes left in the first half and told me I needed to bring more energy. After that I stepped up my intensity and carried it into the second half.”
Jim Foster, Ohio State head coach
On handling the game’s physicality
“Every Big Ten game will be competitive. They had better be, because this is a physical league. The referees let you play. You have to figure it out. I think we did a good job of that.”
On Emilee Harmon and Sasha Dobranic coming off the bench
“They’ve started to earn. They’ve been making fewer mistakes. Emilee [Harmon] had two great weeks of practice. She’s been focused and getting better. She and Sasha [Dobranic] have to continue to work defensively. I think she [Dobranic] did a great job from a defensive point of view tonight. She gave them some size to shoot over.”
On Tayler Hill’s mentality
“Good players do that. They figure it out. They don’t let negative thoughts stay in their head. They think the next shot’s going in.”
On Amber Stokes
“You like to think kids are maturing when you can be very directive and focused with them, tell them what they need to do, and they shake their heads and go do it. Freshman shake their heads, but they don’t know why.”
On the difference between the Michigan game and the Northwestern game
“I thought we had a great shoot around today. It felt really focused. I also thought we handled the delay well. Those are all good signs, in my opinion.”
On Ashley Adams
“Ashley [Adams] is a work in progress. She’s a sophomore. You could probably say that she’s started for one year: half of this year and half of last year. Basketball centers develop later than others. NBA centers hit heir peak at age 28 or 29, when they start winning championships. It takes longer for tall players to develop skills. We short folks are short forever. It happens at levels for centers. I’d like to see Ashley take another step before the end of the season.”
On Darryce Moore
“Darryce [Moore] is a very smart player. She thinks the game; she knows the game. Sometimes she just plays it a little too fast. You play the game of basketball quickly. You don’t play it fast.”
