Women’s Basketball Continues Play On The Road, Challenging Northwestern Sunday Afternoon – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2002
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The Tip
With so much still at stake in the final weeks of Big Ten regular-season play, the Buckeyes are challenged as well with playing their third game over the last four on the road Sunday at Northwestern. Ohio State, 11-14 overall, still maintains seventh place in the standings following a 96-76 loss at Illinois Wednesday.
Northwestern, 4-20 overall, remains in search of its first conference win (0-13) after losing 80-47 to Wisconsin Thursday.
Head Coach Beth Burns
Head coach Beth Burns is marking her 13th career season, her fifth at Ohio State, after steering one of the most amazing comebacks in women’s basketball last year. Rebuilding a squad decimated by injuries, Burns led the program to its second postseason title – the 2001 WNIT Championship and the squad’s best finish in eight seasons at 22-11.
The Buckeyes excelled academically as well with four Buckeyes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors and six tabbed as OSU Scholar-Athletes.
Burns took over the program in April 1997, leaving a successful, well-respected career at San Diego State where she was three times selected the WAC Coach of the Year (1994, ’95, ’97). She has earned a record of 78-64 (.549) as a Buckeye and is 229-148 (.607) over her career.
Burns Against The Opposition
Coach Beth Burns carries a career record of 5-4 vs. Northwestern. The Northwestern Series
Ohio State enjoys a 22-15 record against Northwestern. In Columbus, the Buckeyes sport a 13-5 record following a 77-51 win Jan. 6. OSU is 7-9 in Evanston, Ill., and on a neutral floor, enjoys a 2-1 edge.
Last season, the Buckeyes claimed their first win in Welsh Ryan Arena in more than eight seasons, 66-61.
Northwestern Lately
A young Northwestern basketball club is still searching for its first conference win this season after losing 80-47 to Wisconsin Thursday. Frosh Sara Kwasinski ranks among the top 30 scorers (24th) in the league, averaging 12.3 points per game. She’s also solid on the glass, collecting 6.4 rebounds per game (14th). The Wildcats last victory – Dec. 18 vs. Long Beach State (54-39).
Last Time With Northwestern
The Ohio women’s basketball team rolled to its third-consecutive win in Big Ten play Jan. 6, putting away Northwestern,77-51, in Value City Arena.
Every player on the Buckeye roster saw action. Starting guard Tomeka Brown’s (Columbus, Ohio/Marion Franklin) appearance was brief, exiting the game with a left-knee sprain less than two minutes into the contest.
Four players in Scarlet and Gray finished in the double-figure scoring column led by Lauren Shenk (Sr., Minster, Ohio/Minster) with a 15-point performance. D’wan Shackleford (Jr., Newark, Ohio/Newark), Ashley Allen (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) and Charisse Crews (Fr., Urbancrest, Ohio/Grove City) each added 14 points. Crews’ scoring effort marked a career high as did her five steals. Additionally, she paced the Buckeyes on the boards with eight rebounds.
Ohio State took the Wildcats out of the game early with runs of 10-0 midway in the first half and 10-2 in the final four minutes, to take a 42-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Buckeyes topped Northwestern 35-29 in the second stanza. The play of the OSU bench was key, registering 34 points in the contest.
Forward Courtney Coleman (9 points, 9 rebounds) left the game late, sustaining a concussion.
Victory At A Cost
Sure, Ohio State came away with a victory when the two programs first met Jan. 6 but lost big time in the injuries that occured to starting guard Tomeka Brown and starting center Courtney Coleman.
Brown exited just minutes into the game after suffering a left MCL sprain that resulted in a five-game absence out of the lineup. Coleman missed the Buckeyes’ following game at Michigan (Jan. 10) after sustaining a concussion in the final minutes of the game.
Buckeye Recap
Illinois recorded 23 attempts at the charity stripe in the first half alone, in addition to out-rebounding Ohio State 23-7, on its way to a 96-76 victory Wednesday evening in Champaign.
With the loss, the Buckeyes drop to 11-14 on the year and 6-8 in conference play, while Illinois improves to 14-9, 7-6.
The Buckeyes, stifled by foul trouble, were held to just two field goals in the 6:04 remaining in the stanza. Illinois, enjoying the fruits of the double bonus with 4:57 remaining, capitalized with a 16-4 run to close the half and take a 47-28 lead going into the locker room.
Ohio State pulled within 13 points in the second half, 79-66, with 6:09 left in the game and but it was too late as Illinois edged the Buckeyes 49-48.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor, Ohio State 51.7 percent and Illinois 51.5.
The difference in the game was written on the boards with Illinois pounding Ohio State 41-27.
Courtney Coleman (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Hughes) paced the Buckeyes with 20 points, her ninth-consecutive game in double figures. Lauren Shenk (Sr., Minster, Ohio/Minster), playing 40 minutes, tied her season scoring high with 18 points. D’wan Shackleford (Jr., Newark, Ohio/Newark) posted her fifth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Six players finished in double figures for Illinois led by Angelina Williams with 23 points. Cindy Dallas had a big night on the boards with a game-high 14 rebounds (12 offensive), while adding 15 points.
Coleman Eclipses 1,000 Points
Junior forward Courtney Coleman became the 21st member of the Ohio State women’s basketball program to surpass 1,000 career points Wednesday at Illinois. Coleman, who has paced the Buckeyes in the scoring column in eight of the last nine games, reached the milestone in her 85th career game. Averaging a team-leading 15.5 points per game, she enters the Northwestern contest with 1,004 career points.
D’wan Doubles Up
Forward D’wan Shackleford marked her third double-double of the season, her second in five games, with 11 points and 10 rebounds at Illinois. Shackleford has recorded six over her career.
Shenk Keeps Producing
Guard Lauren Shenk tied her season scoring high of 18 points for the third time Wednesday at Illinois, threading 3-of-6 triples along the way.
Adding five assists to her stats, she joins Kim Jordan on the career assists ladder. They share the No. 14 spot jointly with 275.
Seeing Eye To Eye
Forward DiDi Reynolds tied her career high for assists, threading seven against the Fighting Illini. Reynolds distributed another seven just two games back Feb. 7 at Minnesota.
Shackleford Edits Record Books
Junior forward D’wan Shackleford recorded a career-high nine steals, seven in the second half, Feb. 7 against Michigan. Her effort ties the fourth best all-time performance on the Ohio State single-game records ledger, equaling performances by Buckeyes Tracey Hall (vs. Minnesota, 2-88) and Shelly Nichols (vs. Kentucky, 12-96).
Earlier this season against Penn State (Dec. 30), Shackleford inked another line in the OSU record book for field goal percentage. The Newark, Ohio, native scored a career-high 21 points, shooting 90 percent from the floor (9-of-10) which ranks third all-time.
Individual OSU Single Game Records Field Goal Percentage .923 (12-13) Tracey Hall, 11-29-84 .917 (11-12) Nicole Sanchez, 1-27-89 .900 (9-10) D’wan Shackleford, 12-30-01 .900 (9-10) Stacie Bruce, 3-7-91
Steals 11 Lisa Cline, 12-30-88 10 Yvette Angel, 11-21-84 10 Audrey Burcy, 12-19-92 9 D’wan Shackleford, 2-7-02 9 Tracey Hall, 2-28-88 9 Shelly Nichols, 12-4-96
Six And Counting …
With a win last Sunday vs. Michigan, the Buckeyes have tied last year’s regular season conference wins mark of six. A victory against Northwestern would tie the most conference wins for Ohio State since the 7-9 campaign recorded in Coach Burns’ inaugural campaign in 1997-98.
Buckeyes Display New Look
The Buckeyes have been displaying a new look recently, a bench featuring a roster of reserves that runs a season-high six players deep. About a month ago, Ohio State’s list of reserves included two, sophomore forward Emily Haynam and freshman guard Beth Howe. Since that time, four Buckeyes have been released from the injury roster, Courtney Coleman (concussion), Tomeka Brown (left MCL sprain), Charisse Crews (left knee sprain) and Tanya McClure (left ankle surgery).
Walk-on Amber Stokes joined the roster Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota.
Buckeye Scoring Muscle
Four Buckeyes are listed among the Top 30 scorers in the Big Ten Conference. Forward Courtney Coleman ranks 11th, averaging 15.5 ppg., DiDi Reynolds is 28th with a clip of 10.7 ppg. and D’wan Shackleford ranks a notch behind, 29th, averaging 10.6 ppg.
In league scoring, Coleman ranks 10th (16.3 ppg.), Shackleford 25th (11.6 ppg.) and Lauren Shenk No. 27 (10.9 ppg.).
Coleman 3-for-3
Forward Courtney Coleman made it 3-for-3 with her selection to the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic All-Tournament Team Dec. 15. Coleman averaged 18.5 points per game, shooting 78.2 percent from the floor, and 7.0 rebounds. It is the third such honor for the Cincinnati, Ohio, native who was named to The Great Alaska Shootout and WNIT All-Tournament teams last season.
Reynolds Is On Pace
Three-point shooting specialist DiDi Reynolds is on pace to break the Ohio State record for most treys by a junior. Reynolds, a 6-1 forward, has registered 47 (of 123) on the year, just 11 shy of eclipsing All-American Katie Smith who record 57 as a junior in the 1994-95 season. Reynolds ranks fifth in the league in three-point field goals made, averaging 1.79 per game.
Defending The Rim
Frontcourt standouts Courtney Coleman, D’wan Shackleford and DiDi Reynolds provide the bulk in the Buckeyes’ rebounding muscle. The trio accounts for 50.1 percent of the rebounds collected so far this season with Coleman leading the way, averaging 7.7 rpg. Shackleford trails slightly at 6.5 rpg. with Reynolds collecting 4.7.
Buckeyes 3-2 Against Goliath
Ohio State lost to No. 18 Minnesota (Feb. 7), dropping its record to 3-2 against ranked opponents this season. Purdue, the highest-ranked team on the Buckeye schedule, registered an 80-43 win as the No. 10 team in the country.
The Buckeyes topped the then-No. 23 Golden Gophers in the Jan. 25 meeting between the two teams (70-66) and then-No. 18 Michigan (77-66) Jan. 10. OSU’s first victory this season against a Top 25 team was against then-No. 24 Penn State (70-65) Dec. 30, its first such feat since an upset of then-No. 18 Purdue (53-51) on Jan. 13, 2000.
AP Opponent/Date Rank Result Penn State/12-30 24 W, 70-65 Michigan/1-10 18 W, 77-66 Purdue/1-13 10 L, 43-80 Minnesota/1-25 23 W, 70-66
Read All About Her
Forward Courtney Coleman is the featured Buckeye on the Big Ten Conference website and “Dream Big” profile. Read all about her at www.bigten.org/dreambig.
Wearing No. 2
Former team manager Amber Stokes, a freshman from Urbana, Ohio, is suiting up with the Buckeyes as a walk-on. Stokes, a 5-4 guard and wearing uniform No. 2, became an official member of the team Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota. She the third walk-on in two years to come to the aid of the injury-plagued Buckeyes. She played her first official minutes late in the Penn State Feb. 3.
Injury Update – Down To Three … Again
With the return of guard Tanya McClure (left ankly surgery) to the playing roster Jan. 25 vs. Minnesota, guard Tomeka Brown (left MCL sprain) Jan. 31 vs. Indiana and forward Charisse Crews (left knee sprain) Thursday at Minnesota Feb. 7, the number of players on the injury roster returns to three.
Benched for the game are LaToya Turner (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) and freshman center Brandee Gibbs (Hanover, Minnesota/Orono) who are sidelined indefinitely with injuries.
Turner, the 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, underwent arthroscopic surgery Dec. 11 to clean scar tissue and debris from her left knee. The surgery followed two previous procedures to repair the ACL (April 1999) and ACL-graft (January 2001). Gibbs, who had been experiencing pain in her left foot for nearly a week, was also diagnosed Dec. 11 with a broken left foot.
Both join two Buckeye guard Caity Matter (So., Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) who fractured the third metatarsal in her left foot Nov. 11. Her rehabilitation continues as well.
Burns Signs Top Guards
Head coach Beth Burns has enlisted two talented guards to the 2002 roster, signing
Candace Dark and Kim Wilburn to national letters of intent in November.
Dark, 5-11, and Wilburn, 5-6, are both finalists for the coveted “Ms. Basketball” title in their respective states of Indiana and Michigan.
Dark heralds from Fountain Central in Veedersburg. Averaging 21.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, five steals and five assists in her junior campaign, Dark guided her squad to its first Class 2A Sectional and Regional championships and a 21-4 finish.
Wilburn is a known product out of Detroit Country Day in Beverly Hills, Michigan. She steered Country Day to two Class B state championship titles in 1998 and 1999, and runner-up finishes in her final two campaigns. As a junior, Wilburn averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.2 steals per game.
Get Your Tickets Now
Tickets are currently on sale for the 2002 Big Ten Tournament Feb. 28-March 4 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. To sit in the Ohio State fan block, contact The Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office at 614-292-2624. All-session passes are available as well as individual tickets.
Next Time Out
Ohio State will receive a week off to prepare for its season home finale Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. Wisconsin. Game time is 2 p.m. in Value City Arena.
