Feb. 23, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Jessica Davenport scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to lead No. 6 Ohio State to a 67-58 victory over No. 12 Purdue on Thursday night, giving the Buckeyes their first outright Big Ten title in two decades.
The victory - Ohio State's 15th in a row since losing 61-59 at Purdue on Jan. 1 - gave the Buckeyes (24-2, 14-1) a two-game lead in the conference with one to play.
A crowd of 7,174 chanted "Big Ten champs" in the final seconds as Ohio State locked up its first outright conference title since the 1985-86 season.
Brandie Hoskins added 19 points and Debbie Merrill 13 for the Buckeyes, who scored their final 14 points on foul shots.
Ohio State was 19 of 27 at the line to Purdue's 6-for-9.
Katie Gearlds led the Boilermakers (22-5, 12-3) with 19 points, with Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton adding 13. The Boilermakers have lost two straight, including a costly 63-61 overtime lost to Indiana at home on Sunday.
The Boilermakers were unable to get any offense inside the paint or even within 12 feet of the basket against the Buckeyes, the nation's stingiest defense at 51.3 points per game. With the 6-foot-5 Davenport patrolling the lane along with Merrill, Purdue was forced to shoot from the perimeter.
The Buckeyes, up by seven at the half, stretched the lead to 39-28 in the opening 5 minutes of the second half only to have the Boilermakers pull within three points twice. Widsom-Hylton's two free throws with 7:29 left cut the lead to 48-45. But the Buckeyes responded on Merrill's leaning bank shot that ended up being a three-point play.
After a Purdue turnover, Ashley Allen pinpointed a pass to Davenport for another basket inside to make it 53-45 with just under 6 minutes remaining - the Buckeyes' final field goal.
Gearlds hit a 3-pointer to pull the Boilermakers to 53-48 before Hoskins hit four consecutive free throws for a 57-48 lead with 2:21 left.
Purdue never got closer than six points again.
Outrebounded in the first meeting, the Buckeyes controlled the boards 32-27, with Davenport grabbing 10.
Davenport was hemmed in on all sides throughout the first half, managing just five shots while scoring six points. But Hoskins scored 10 points primarily on bursts through the lane or cuts across the baseline.
Allen, who finished with seven points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds, was the leader on defense, with four steals as the Buckeyes took a 30-23 lead at the break.
The Buckeyes improved to 16-0 with Allen in the starting lineup.
In the earlier meeting, Davenport managed just 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.