Lady Basketball Buckeyes Tidbits 2005-2006 Season

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Dispatch

2/7/06

OSU gets busy preparing for postseason mind-set

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




At first glance, a game against a non-Big Ten team in the middle of a hot conference race has the odd look of a weed sprouting from a crack in an asphalt driveway. It doesn’t belong there.
Ohio State coach Jim Foster takes a different view. He is pleased that his seventh-ranked Buckeyes (18-2) will play Wright State (10-12) tonight in Value City Arena.
The Raiders were runnersup to Wisconsin-Green Bay in the Pioneer League tournament last season and just missed an NCAA Tournament berth. A team like this one figures to be waiting for the Buckeyes in March.
"I’m sure this is a good game for them in the middle of their conference season to get out of that routine," said Foster, who said he likes the idea of having one day to prepare for the game. "That is what the NCAA Tournament is. You play somebody, prepare and play somebody. This is a great opportunity to get into that mind-set this week."
This is busy week for the Buckeyes. They travel to Ann Arbor for a Big Ten game against Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday, then return to play Iowa at 5 p.m. Sunday in another conference game.
The whirlwind happens as the team appears to be hitting its stride. It has a ninegame winning streak, and junior center Jessica Davenport won her third conference player of the week award yesterday after hitting 10 of 11 shots from the field and scoring 23 points in a 61-45 win over Indiana on Sunday.
Davenport doesn’t mind the busy schedule, because she thinks the team is improving each game.
In the Indiana win, the offense found ways to score at critical times when she was double- and triple-teamed. The defense looked similarly efficient while limiting the duo of Cyndi Valentin and Jenny De-Muth to a combined 13 points.
"I’ve seen a lot of our players just go out and play their game and not just trying to focus on passing me the ball," Davenport said. "They’re able to score and they’re able to play against great defensive teams like that.
"I think our communication is getting a lot better. That’s helping to lead to defensive stops. We can focus on a couple of players that we don’t want to get started offensively."
The Raiders are hoping to surprise the Buckeyes. Davenport doubts that will happen.
"I’m sure whatever Wright State throws at us, we’ll be prepared for it," she said.
jmassie@dispatch.com

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scout.com (free)

2/8/06

Game wrap-up of the win over Wright State.

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Dispatch

2/8/06

NO. 7 OHIO STATE 79 | WRIGHT STATE 48

Thanks to suffocating ‘D’, Buckeyes can breathe easy
OSU pulls away late, uses game as tournament preview

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH Wright State’s Alicia Avery, left, blocks a shot attempt by Ohio State’s Jessica Davenport, who still finished with 18 points.


MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH Brandie Hoskins of Ohio State puts up a shot against Tyanda Hammock of Wright State.


At a midweek gathering with the media, the topic turned to defense and Ohio State coach Jim Foster pointed out that in 28 years his teams had yet to "pitch a shutout."
For 11 minutes, 1 second last night in Value City Arena, the seventh-ranked Buckeyes (19-2) did a fair impression of Roger Clemens while pumping fast breaks past Wright State during a 79-48 victory.
The Raiders (10-13) spent the first 29 minutes putting a few dents in a proud OSU defense that entered the game second in the nation in points allowed.
Wright State closed to 53-45 on the fourth three-point basket by Rhea Mays and had the crowd of 3,330 wondering whether the home team could be in trouble. But OSU answered emphatically with a blistering 26-3 run to wrap up its 10 th consecutive victory.
"It was kind of like a reality check that you have to wake up on defense and you’ve got to start playing aggressively," Buckeyes guard Kim Wilburn said. "We switched things around, and that worked for us."
The tempo change didn’t surprise Wright State coach Bridgett Williams.
"They’re a great program," she said of OSU. "You’re just kind of waiting for that to happen the entire game. It was just a matter of time before they took over in that regard. We had their backs to the wall, and I think that’s when they came out after that (Mays’ threepointer)."
The smothering defense led to multiple transition opportunities for the Buckeyes, who thrived in the open court. Brandie Hoskins led the offense with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and closed to four points of 1,000 for her career.
Jessica Davenport finished with 18 points, and Wilburn added 10 points and six steals. Ashley Allen had six assists against no turnovers. All 12 players on the roster contributed to the win.
"When you play 12 players and the ball is shared as well as it was and moved as well as it was and players are as unselfish as they were, that speaks volumes for them," Foster said.
Foster noted that Hoskins is growing accustomed to playing with the prescription goggles she began sporting seven games ago.
"As a result, she is starting to play better," he said. "That’s not an easy adjustment to go through. She’s doing a much better job playing at a great tempo and adding a couple of things that we like. The spin is something she used today in the open floor and finished with her left hand."
Hoskins agreed that she and the goggles are co-existing better, but a couple of problems remain.
"They fog up a lot," she said. "And just having something on me. I hate playing with stuff on me. I hate stuff touching me when I’m playing. I used to wear them when I was younger, but it’s still hard when they fog up. They make me feel like Horace Grant."
Hoskins enjoyed the rapid pace of the game and said the spin move Foster complimented came out of practice.
"Coach Foster has been making me work on it in practice," she said. "A lot of times in practice with Tia (Battle) guarding me, I have to go to my left. So it helps me work on moves to my left." Mays led Wright State with 14 points. Brittney Whiteside, a Mifflin High School graduate, scored seven points and topped 1,000 points for her career.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

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Link

2/9/06

PG WEST: McDonald's picks WA center Walker as all-star nominee

Thursday, February 09, 2006
By David Assad, Tri-State Sports & News Service




West Allegheny senior Andrea Walker is headed for Ohio State on a basketball scholarship, which appeared to be an unlikely proposition three years ago when she entered high school as a seldom-used player for the Indians varsity.
Walker, a 6-foot-4 center, has really stepped up her game in recent years, however, to develop into one of the top talents in the WPIAL.
She was recently nominated for the 2006 McDonald's All-American High School team. If selected, Walker would play in the March 31 game at San Diego State University's Cox Arena.
Walker is averaging 17.6 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots, two assists and two steals per game. She signed a letter-of-intent with the Buckeyes program during the scholarship signing period last November.
"Her freshman year, she played sporadically," West Allegheny coach Beth Bayly said. "She was about 6-1 her freshman year so she's grown her last couple years. Ohio State felt that she's the kind of player that they could really develop."
Despite her stellar numbers in her senior season, it has not been quite good enough to get West Allegheny into the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs. The Indians (11-11, 5-8) were eliminated from playoff contention Monday after a 50-41 loss at Beaver Area. Walker was held to 11 points, due in part to foul trouble.
"She's physically strong on the inside," Bayly said. "Her younger years of high school she was just immature. The seriousness [toward basketball] wasn't there yet. This year, she is finally realizing how much her team relies on her and what her capabilities are. She's really focused this year and has worked really hard on her own game to help the rest of her team."
Walker has played AAU basketball in recent summers for the Rockers, an all-star caliber team of current WPIAL seniors. The team usually practiced at LaRoche College or Duquesne University. Some of her teammates last summer included Nikki Presto of Thomas Jefferson and Amy Johns of McKeesport, both high-scoring guards. Walker has been primarily used as a post player, which is where she is expected to contribute at Ohio State, one of the top programs in the Big Ten every season.
"She's an unselfish kind of player," Bayly said. "She's very good at passing to help break the press... And being 6-4, that's a given [when it comes to college recruiting interest]. That's something you can't coach. A lot of times when you are that big, you can't run. But she gets up and down the floor well and has nice hands. She catches just about everything that's thrown around her."
Last summer, Walker's AAU team competed in several high-profile tournaments nationally.
"I knew I had to keep working hard to get to the next level," Walker said. "I had to do a lot to improve my game to reach that level for a program like Ohio State that has really high standards."
She has 1,099 career points, the fifth player in West Allegheny girls' basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau. She passed the 1,000-point mark when she scored 18 against Ambridge Jan. 23 when the Indians topped the host Bridgers, 42-34. Her younger sister, 6-1 freshman Michelle Walker, also scored 18 points that evening.
Andrea Walker also scored 27 points with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead West Allegheny to a 64-55 win at home against Blackhawk last Thursday to avenge an overtime loss to the Cougars earlier in the season. Junior guard Tiffany Medwid also scored 20 points during the victory. The win over Blackhawk temporarily kept the Indians in the playoff race.
"She did what she needed to do to win that game for us," Bayly said. "We got some help from our guards, but she just dominated inside. She's faced a lot of double-teaming and physically gets beat up around the boards every game because there are always two or three people around her.
"She's done a good job of knowing when to throw the ball and when not to throw the ball. Sometimes, she'll relocate and come away from the hoop and she's starting to take the ball to the hoop, facing the basket more. She'll shoot those little jumpers inside of the paint which helps her [as a post-up player]."
"I don't let the double- and triple-teaming get to me," Walker said.
"It was exciting to beat Blackhawk. I got into foul trouble against them, so I didn't try to do anything risky. I knew I had to keep playing smart. The guards were making a lot of nice passes to me and they were really being smart with the ball and everything just came together."
Walker is looking forward to her career at Ohio State. "I'm excited about the opportunity there, but I know I'm going to have to work a lot harder when I get there," she said.HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS' BASKETBALL

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Dispatch

2/10/06

OSU transfer can’t play yet, but she’s in the game

Friday, February 10, 2006

Jim Massie
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




The clock in the car had moved past midnight and the traffic around Champaign, Ill., was light enough to leave Ohio State assistant coach Debbie Black alone with her thoughts.
The cell phone call caught her by surprise and the number didn’t immediately register.
"I’m thinking, ‘Who can this be?’ " said Black, who was driving home from a recruiting trip. "It was Ashlee Trebilcock. She was calling to tell me that Iowa had beaten Purdue."
More than five weeks after transferring to OSU from UCLA, Trebilcock feels at home with the seventh-ranked Buckeyes. The freshman point guard has been practicing for a month and is engrossed in the Big Ten race even though she won’t be eligible to play in a game until next season.
"I still feel like I’m a part of the team," Trebilcock said. "If they win, then it’s a big win for all of us and I feel part of that. And if there’s an upset or something happens in the league that’s a big deal, then I’m really excited about it."
The loss by the Big Ten-leading Boilermakers fit into the big-deal category.
"What happened was, me and my mom were sitting on the couch watching ESPN," Trebilcock said. "The bottom ticker said Purdue had lost by six to Iowa. I went online and made sure. I was like, ‘I’ve got to call somebody. Who’s up? Coach Black is definitely up. She’s always up.’ "
As a midseason transfer, Trebilcock in ineligible to go to road games. When the Buckeyes (19-2, 9-1) play at last-place Michigan (6-17, 0-11) at 7 tonight, she will try to find the game on television or online and wait for postgame calls from teammates and coaches.
Coach Jim Foster is pleased with how quickly Trebilcock has fit into the program.
"She makes us a much better practice team," he said. "She’s got terrific instincts. She can shoot it. She’s a good finisher. She’s working hard on her defense, which is something she’s going to have to work at."
It helps, he said, that Trebilcock isn’t alone in this situation. Seniors Tia Battle and Debbie Merrill also transferred to OSU and had to sit out for a year.
"They know what that experience is like," Foster said. "I think they have extended themselves to her."
Landing Trebilcock, even for 2½ seasons, was a coup for OSU. She was a Parade Magazine Scholastic All-American after her senior season at Hart High School in California and the Los Angeles Daily News player of the year. She left UCLA after four games this season and chose the Buckeyes over Connecticut and Oklahoma.
"To me there are people that are good practice players sometimes and they’re not necessarily gamers," Trebilcock said. "Then there’s like gamers that kind of get through practice. I’ve always been a little more of a gamer.
"So now to have to sit out, it’s a killer. But I just have to look at it that the practices are my games. If I’m helping to make other people better, then I am part of the team."
jmassie@dispatch.com

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Dispatch

2/10/06

Friday, February 10, 2006