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Dispatch

Davenport too big for Big Red
Center leads Buckeyes? rout with 24 points

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Stephanie Blanton, right, steals the ball from Lindsay Krasna of Cornell. Blanton sparked Ohio State?s breakaway run in the first half with active defensive play off the bench.


Cornell coach Dayna Smith recognized the size of the mountain facing the Big Red yesterday, even before the Ohio State women?s basketball team and All-American center Jessica Davenport took the court in St. John Arena for the Buckeye Classic.
"Obviously, we were overmatched," Smith said. "Defensively, we tried to front Davenport. We tried to front their posts. We thought they could score over us. (Davenport) still had her 24 points. She played terrific. I don?t know if we were physically able to compete with that."
The sixth-ranked Buckeyes overpowered the Big Red for a 77-43 victory in front of 3,936 fans. Davenport led an offensive effort that never let up with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
"Coach (Jim Foster) told us during the game to play the game, not the score," Davenport said. "We were up big, and I think we got a little lackadaisical. So we had to keep playing hard. We just went out and executed the game plan."
Ohio State (4-0) will face Montana (3-0), a 68-61 winner over Davidson, at 2 p.m. today in the championship game. The Big Red (0-4) and Wildcats (3-2) play at noon.
Davenport had more than enough help. Senior guard Brandie Hoskins had 19 points and six assists, and junior guard Marscilla Packer added nine points and five assists against no turnovers.
The Buckeyes, who committed 19 turnovers Tuesday in a double-overtime win over Boston College, had just 10 against the Big Red. That number pleased Foster.
"The number I look at is turnovers and assists," he said. "When we reverse the ball, we?re a good basketball team. We get pretty good shots. By moving the ball and putting Jess in a situation where she?s moving around, it?s a lot more difficult to come up with a trapping scheme."
In the opening minutes, Cornell scrapped and hung close. The Big Red trailed 13-9 after Kayleen Fitzsimmons made a three-pointer with 13:24 left in the half. OSU senior Stephanie Blanton entered the game 30 seconds later and fueled the decisive run.
"I thought when she came into the game, she made a couple of hustle plays that led to quick, easy baskets," Foster said. "She made two great passes out to Brandie by getting on the floor and just being active."
Hoskins scored back-to-back fast-break baskets and the Buckeyes never looked back.
"The way we played defense led to transition for the offense," Hoskins said. "We played really well on defense. We got on the floor a lot. Most of the offense I got came from defense."
The Buckeyes led by 39 points in the second half and Foster played everyone on the roster for at least five minutes. The bench contributed 18 points, and freshman Lesslee Mason-Cox scored the first four points of her Ohio State career.
Sophomore Jeomi Maduka led Cornell with 21 points and nine rebounds. She couldn?t, however, stop Davenport.
"We watched a lot of film," Smith said. "She?s very controlled. For that size and her power, it?s amazing how controlled she is when she catches it. She?s the real deal."
jmassie@dispatch.com