#3 OHIO STATE (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (3-0, 0-0 BIG 12)
RADIO/INTERNET: WOSU 820-AM/www.wosu.org/Marty Bannister, Kristin Watt
LIVE STATS/TELEVISION: www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com/www.BigTenNetwork.com

SERIES INFORMATION
Series Record (First Meeting)

FASTBREAK POINTS
• Sunday will be the first meeting between Ohio State and Oklahoma State on the hardwood.
• Junior center Jantel Lavender has scored in double-figures in all 70 career games, the longest streak in Division I among active players. Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley is second with 61

Current consecutive games of 10+ points:

• The Buckeyes are off and running this year - literally. Powered by point guard Samantha Prahalis, the Buckeyes are averaging 90.5 ppg, by far the most in the Jim Foster era through four games. The Buckeyes are shooting 51 percent from the field as a team, led by Jantel Lavender's 68.4 percent clip.
• Last Thursday's win over West Virginia marked the first time six Buckeyes scored in double-figures since Dec. 17, 2006 against Howard.
• Jantel Lavender's 39 career double-doubles is the most among active Big Ten players. Lavender had a Big Ten-best 24 in 2008-09 and two so far this year. The Buckeyes are 33-6 overall in her career when she records a double-double.
• Meanwhile, sophomore Samantha Prahalis notched her first career double-double Thursday night against West Virginia with 14 points and a season-high 12 assists - one shy of her career high of 13 set last year against North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• The Buckeyes have won four in a row and 14 of their last 15 dating to last season.
• The third-ranked Buckeyes have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for 98-consecutive weeks. The Buckeyes also are third in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll and three other notable preseason publications.
• Ohio State has won 96 of its last 97 regular-season games against unranked opponents at home. The Buckeyes had their 86-consecutive game win streak snapped with its 59-56 loss to Minnesota Jan. 15, 2009. The last unranked team to win in Columbus before that was Penn State, Feb. 3, 2002.
• The Buckeyes are 46-2 since the start of the 2007-08 season when making more at the free throw line than the opposition.
• Ohio State owns the seventh-best winning percentage (.836) and has the ninth-most wins (138) in all of women's basketball over the last five seasons.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Based upon all the preseason hype, one might be led to believe that Ohio State features one of the more veteran teams in the country. Fact is, it's just the opposite. The Buckeyes are one of only three teams ranked in the Top 15 to feature no seniors in their starting lineup. Further, junior Jantel Lavender has just as many career starts (70) as the other four starters combined. The Buckeyes' third and fourth-leading scorers have just eight career starts between them in Hill (11.5 ppg) and Schulze (11.3 ppg).

FAST STARTS
The Buckeyes are jumping out to big leads this season, outscoring their opponents 192-106 in the first half. Their largest lead at the half was a 53-24 advantage against UAB in which the Buckeyes shot 70.4 percent (19-of-27) in the opening 20 minutes -- its highest shooting percentage in a half since Dec. 6, 2006 when OSU connected on 19-of-26 shots (73.1 percent) in the second half against Alabama A&M. Ohio State also scored 55 points in the first 20 minutes in the WNIT second round win over Bowling Green.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State (3-0) has defeated Arkansas-Little Rock (67-58), Georgia Tech (70-64) and New Mexico (70-56) on the road in the semifinals to reach Sunday's championship game.

Andrea Riley leads the Cowgirls with 24.3 ppg thus far and gets to the free throw line often, hitting 27-of-32 attempts in just three games. Riley was chosen as the Big 12 player of the week last Monday after averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals in OSU's two preseason WNIT wins. Riley was a second team AP All-American in 2008 and an honorable mention choice last season. Tegan Cunninghame is second on the team with 19.0 ppg while Precious Robinson averages 10.0 ppg and a team-best 9.3 rebounds. As a team, OSU is averaging just under 70 points per game.

Head coach Kurt Budke is in his fifth season in Stillwater, leading the Cowgirls to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2008.

BUCKEYES AMONG EARLY BIG TEN LEADERS
Though early, several Buckeyes rank among the Big Ten leaders in several categories. Jantel Lavender ranks first in FG percentage (.684), second in scoring with 24.0 ppg and fourth in rebounding (10.3) while Samantha Prahalis leads the Big Ten with 9.0 assists per game. Junior Sarah Schulze is third in 3FG's with 2.0 per game and is tied for the lead in FT percentage (9-of-9).

As a team, Ohio State ranks either first or second in scoring (90.5), scoring margin (+24.5), FG percentage (.508), 3FG percentage (.413), rebounding (47.5), rebounding margin (+12.8), assists (21.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.27).

LAVENDER, HILL PICK UP WEEKLY BIG TEN HONORS
Jantel Lavender and Tayler Hill earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors. Lavender received her 10th career player of the week honor after leading Ohio State to wins over Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green. The Big Ten's preseason player of the year, she recorded her 38th and 39th career double-doubles with 24 points and 13 rebounds Nov. 13 and 23 points and 14 boards Nov. 15. For the weekend, Lavender averaged 23.5 points while shooting at 52.9 percent from the floor, also with 13.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per contest. The junior's 10 career Player of the Week selections is third all-time in the Big Ten. She shares the honor with Iowa's Kachine Alexander.

Hill garnered the first-ever Big Ten women's basketball freshman of the week award. Hill averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists without a turnover, connecting on 57.9 percent of her shots from the field. The freshman had nine points and nine boards in her collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois, before exploding for 19 points, six boards and six assists vs. BGSU.

OSU-WVU RECAP
No. 3 Ohio State dominated the first 4 minutes and West Virginia never came close to recovering over the last 36. Samantha Prahalis had 14 points and 12 assists, and the Buckeyes scored the first 17 points to roll past the Mountaineers 92-69 Thursday night in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT. Jantel Lavender led Ohio State with 19 points, and freshman Tayler Hill added 14. Brittany Johnson had 13, Shavelle Little 11 and Maria Moeller 10 for the balanced Buckeyes, who shot 60 percent from the field. Johnson hit two 3-pointers, Hill had five points and Prahalis four in the 17-0 burst during the first 4 minutes. The Mountaineers (2-1), who got 23 points from Liz Repella, pulled to 27-19 with under 7 minutes left in the half. But the Buckeyes went on an 11-0 run. Down 44-24 at halftime, the Mountaineers drew to 67-52 midway through the half but Prahalis drove the baseline, hit a layup and was fouled, and completed the three-point play. Moments later, she assisted when Maria Moeller tossed in a 3-pointer to make it 73-52, effectively ending any West Virginia hopes. Shavelle Little made all five shots from the field and her only foul shot and also had two steals and a blocked shot.

NOTING THE UAB GAME
• The game was the 10th all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and the Mountaineers, all Ohio State victories.
• The 92 Buckeye points were a season-best. Ohio State has won three of the four games this season by at least 20 points.
• The Buckeyes dished out 20-plus assists for the third-consecutive game.
• The Buckeyes 17-0 run to start the game was the biggest outburst to start a game in 2009 and the second-longest run of the season overall.
• The 26 points the Buckeyes scored in the paint in the first half equaled the total Ohio State points in the paint Tuesday against UAB. The Buckeyes also turned 10 Mountaineer first half turnovers into 17 points, three more than Ohio State recorded all game against the Blazers.
• Ohio State led by at least 20 points at the half for the third consecutive game.
• Ohio State connected on 19 first half field goals for the third consecutive game. The Buckeyes also shot over 60 percent from the field in the first half for the second consecutive contest.
• In her first action of the season, senior guard Shavelle Little matched her career-best with 11 points off the bench.
• After recording eight assists in each of the first three games this season, sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis dished out 12 against the Mountaineers.

FOSTER GOING FOR 700TH CAREER WIN IN 2009-10
With 689 career wins going into Sunday, head coach Jim Foster is expected to hit the 700-win milestone this season. He is the ninth-winningest active coach in Division I by wins and is 13th all-time in his 32nd season.

Virginia's Debbie Ryan was the newest member of the 700-win club with her win on Nov. 13. Just ahead of Foster among active coaches is UConn's Geno Auriemma who sits at 698 wins as of Nov. 18.

LAVENDER EARNS PRESEASON HONORS
Junior center Jantel Lavender was named to the Associated Press' 2009-10 Preseason Women's All-America basketball team in late October. She is only the second women's player at Ohio State to be named to the five-member preseason squad. Jessica Davenport was the first. A 2009 WBCA All-American and the Big Ten's Player of the Year the last two seasons, Lavender also was picked to win her third conference player of the year honor at Big Ten media day in Chicago in October. The junior also is a member of the preseason Wade and Wooden award watch lists after finishing last season first in the conference and 11th in the nation with 20.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

2009-10 Associated Press Preseason Women's All-America basketball team:
• Maya Moore, Connecticut, 6-0, junior, 19.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, .521 fg pct (40 votes)
• Jayne Appel, Stanford, 6-4, senior, 16.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, .602 fg pct (34)
• Tina Charles, Connecticut, 6-4, senior, 16.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, .620 fg pct (28)
• Jantel Lavender, Ohio State, 6-4, junior, 20.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg, .541 fg pct (20)
• Monica Wright, Virginia, 5-11, senior, 20.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 117 3-pointers (20)

OSU TOUGH AT HOME UNDER FOSTER
Since the start of the 2004-05 season, Ohio State has amassed a remarkable 85-5 record at home and a 74-4 record at Value City Arena (10-1 at St. John Arena, 1-0 at Nationwide Arena). The Buckeyes have posted two perfect home records under head coach Jim Foster, going 14-0 in his first year in 2002-03 and 17-0 in 2004-05.

Buckeyes at home in the Foster Era

OHIO STATE SELECTED TO HOST 2011 NCAA FIRST, SECOND ROUNDS
The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has selected the first and second round and regional sites for the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship. Among the sites is Columbus, Ohio with the games being played in St. John Arena. The first- and second-round sites will host games either Saturday, March 19, and Monday, March 21 or Sunday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The final dates will be determined in June, 2010.

BUCKEYES GUNNING FOR RECORD SIXTH-STRAIGHT BIG TEN TITLE
Ohio State was tabbed by the conference coaches and media to win the program's sixth straight Big Ten title. The Buckeyes return four starters from last year's 29-6 squad that won the Big Ten Championship and Tournament before advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. Among OSU's returnees are last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Samantha Prahalis, a Preseason All-Conference selection, and two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Shavelle Little. Michigan State was selected to finish second by the coaches and the media, led by Preseason All-Big Ten selection Allyssa DeHaan. The Spartans return all five starters from last year's team that went 22-11 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Big Ten coaches selected Minnesota to finish third, while the conference media members tabbed Purdue as their third-place finisher. The Gophers finished 20-12 last season and moved on to the second round of NCAA play, while Purdue ended the year at 25-11 with the program's second Elite Eight appearance in the last three years.

Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL
Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU
Jantel Lavender, Jr., C, OSU
Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU
Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU

Most Consecutive Big Ten Reg. Season Titles:

OHIO STATE'S BIG TEN TITLES
2008-09
2007-08*
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05*
1992-93*
1988-89*
1986-87*
1985-86
1984-85
1983-84
1982-83*
* co-championship

PAIR OF BUCKEYES WIN GOLD MEDALS OVER SUMMER
Jantel Lavender and Samantha Prahalis each won gold medals for their respective USA Basketball teams this summer. Prahalis was a member of the 2009 USA U19 National Team competing in Thailand. She helped the U.S. to an 8-1 record and a gold medal while averaging 10.7 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She scored 21 points in the gold medal game win over Spain. Lavender was a member of the 2009 USA World University Games Team that went undefeated and won a gold medal in Belgrade, Serbia. She averaged 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, including 14 points in the gold medal game win over Russia.

BIG TEN AND BIG 12 ANNOUNCE FORMATION OF ANNUAL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHALLENGE
The Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences announced today the formation of an annual inter-conference challenge for women's basketball, which will span at least two years and will begin in the fall of 2010. The series will feature a home-and-home format over the initial two-year agreement, and each of the Big 12's teams will play in each Challenge, while one Big Ten team, Wisconsin, will play two Challenge games each year. The 2010 Challenge will be played Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4 and 5, with the exception of the Kansas at Wisconsin game, which will be played on Nov. 21. The Big Ten will have seven home games during the 2010 Challenge, which will be referred to as the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. In 2011, the Big 12 will have seven home games, and the series will be referred to as the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge.

Matchups for the 2010 and 2011 Challenges can be found below. Dates, times and television information will be released at a later date. Ohio State will host Oklahoma in 2010 and travel to the Sooner state in 2011.

2010 BIG TEN/BIG 12 CHALLENGE
Minnesota at Baylor
Illinois at Colorado
Nebraska at Indiana
Kansas State at Iowa
Michigan at Iowa State
Texas at Michigan State
Missouri at Northwestern
Oklahoma at Ohio State
Wisconsin at Oklahoma State
Texas Tech at Penn State
Purdue at Texas A&M
Kansas at Wisconsin

2011 BIG 12/BIG TEN CHALLENGE
Colorado at Illinois
Wisconsin at Kansas
Iowa at Kansas State
Iowa State at Michigan
Baylor at Minnesota
Northwestern at Missouri
Indiana at Nebraska
Ohio State at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Purdue
Michigan State at Texas
Penn State at Texas Tech
Oklahoma State at Wisconsin

BUCKEYES IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Ohio State will be featured on national TV at least 12 times this year during the regular season. Eight games are scheduled on the Big Ten Network, two games on ESPN2 and one on CBS Jan. 9 at Michigan State. All other Big Ten games and home non-conference games can be watched online at www.BigTenNetwork.com.