Michigan State University
Ohio State
No. 14 MSU Falls At No. 6 Ohio State
2/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Jessica Davenport scored 18 of her 22 points in the first half, and No. 6 Ohio State went on to a 69-38 victory over No. 14 Michigan State on Monday night.
The Buckeyes (23-2, 13-1), who maintained their one-game lead in the Big Ten with two games left, built a 19-point lead at halftime while shooting 62 percent from the field.
It was the Buckeyes' 14th win in a row and gave coach Jim Foster No. 600 for his career.
No one scored more than seven points for the Spartans (20-8, 10-5), who hit just 29 percent of their shots from the field and were 1-of-13 on 3-pointers. Winners of their last six games, they came in as the conference's No. 3 team in scoring at 69.9 points per game.
The game was dramatically different from the first meeting a month ago. With the score tied and 3 seconds left, Ohio State inbounded to Marscilla Packer who tossed a 40-foot pass to Davenport. She caught the ball and shot it in one motion, banking the ball in to beat the buzzer.
This time the Buckeyes led by as many as 34 points in the second half and were able to go to their bench in the final minutes. They host No. 12 Purdue on Thursday night with a chance to clinch their first outright Big Ten title since 1987.
Davenport had a big first half despite being cornered by three defenders almost every time she touched the ball. Her teammates continually dumped lob passes in over defenders who were fronting her, leaving the 6-foot-5 first-team All-American to shoot layups.
When the Spartans dropped back behind her, she showed her touch from 12 feet. Three times she caught bounce passes, pivoted away from the defender and hit bank shots.
Still, Michigan State trailed just 26-19 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the half. The Buckeyes then sprinted away to score 16 of the half's final 20 points to build a 42-23 lead.
