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Ohio State Gets Past Penn State and Into the Semifinals
March 3, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Brandie Hoskins scored 14 points to lead No. 5 Ohio State to a 64-46 win over Penn State in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals Friday. The top-seeded Buckeyes won their 17th straight, while the Lady Lions' finished their first losing season in 33 years. Ohio State (26-2), seeking its first conference tourney championship, will play either Michigan State or Iowa in the semifinals on Sunday. Penn State, a two-time tournament winner, finished 13-16, its worst record since 1973. The Buckeyes so dominated the Lady Lions from the start that leading scorer Jessica Davenport, the two-time Big Ten player of the year, was on the floor only 9 minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second period. Debbie Merrill added 11 points and Marscilla Packer had 10 for the Buckeyes. Davenport, constantly double-teamed, made only 2-of-6 shots and had a season-low six points and five rebounds. Penn State was led by Kamela Gissendanner with 15 points and Amanda Brown with 10. Davenport had two baskets and Packer had two 3-pointers in a 16-5 start for the Buckeyes. But with Davenport on the bench most of the period, Hoskins took over, scoring 10 of her 14 points before the break. Penn State pulled to 22-17 on a basket by Brown, but the Lady Lions, who had 15 turnovers in the first half and 21 for the game, didn't score the rest of the period. A basket and a 3-pointer by reserve Stephanie Blanton, a 3-pointer by Merrill and another basket by reserve Alice Jamen completed a 10-0 Ohio State run for a 32-17 lead at halftime. Hoskins, who averaged 12 points, reached that with her first basket of the second half, starting another 10-0 burst that pushed the Buckeyes' lead to 44-21. Ohio State's biggest lead was 59-33 with just over 4 minutes to go, and the Lions never came closer than 16 the rest of the way.
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