For the complete release, player bios and stats, click the PDF above
#3/3 Ohio State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. West Virginia (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, 7 p.m. ET
Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio
Radio/Internet - WOSU 820-AM/www.wosu.org (Neil Sika, Toni Roesch)
Live Stats/Television - www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com/www.BigTenNetwork.com
Series Record: Ohio State leads 9-0
Last Meeting: NCAA first round, 3/20/04, OSU 73-67
Fastbreak Points
- The last meeting between these two teams was in the first round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, a 73-67 Ohio State win at St. John Arena in Columbus. Thursday will be the 10th meeting between Ohio State and West Virginia with the Buckeyes winning all nine previous matchups.
- Junior center Jantel Lavender has scored in double-figures in all 69 career games, the longest streak in Division I among active players according to STATS, Inc.
- 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.
- 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 95 of its last 96 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 45-2 since the start of the 2007-08 season when making more at the free throw line than the opposition.
- Junior Sarah Schulze made her first career start Nov. 13 against EIU and recorded several career highs, including 18 points and nine rebounds. She is second on the team with 13.3 points and is averaging 8.0 rebounds while shooting 54 percent from the field and 9-of-9 from the FT line.
- The Buckeyes will welcome back seniors Shavelle Little and Cherise Daniel to the lineup Thursday after the two served a three-game suspension for an NCAA secondary violation.
- 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 while junior Jantel Lavender has more career starts (69) than the other four starters combined: Prahalis (38), Schulze (3), Johnson (23) and Hill (3). The Buckeyes' second and fourth-leading scorers have just six career starts between them in Schulze (13.3 ppg) and Hill (10.7 ppg).
FAST STARTS
The Buckeyes are jumping out to big leads this season, outscoring their opponents 148-82 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 second round win over Bowling Green.
SCOUTING WVU
The Mountaineers, a member of the BIG EAST conference, are 2-0 on the young season with wins over Towson (79-42) and Marist (55-50) at home in the opening rounds of the WNIT. They are one of the younger teams in Division I and are one of eight schools nationally to have no seniors on its roster and were picked to finish ninth in the 16-member BIG EAST conference. This season WVU is led by junior guard and preseason All-BIG EAST selection Liz Repella who is averaging 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this year. Freshman center Asya Bussie, an ESPN Top 100 recruit, is second on the team wtih 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. Head coach Mike Carey is in his eighth year at West Virginia with a 152-101 overall record. He is the fastest WVU coach to 100 wins.
Buckeyes Among Early Big Ten Leaders
Though early, several Buckeyes rank among the Big Ten leaders in several categories. Jantel Lavender ranks second in scoring with 25.7 ppg, third in rebounding (11.0) while Samantha Prahalis leads the Big Ten with 8.0 assists per game. Junior Sarah Schulze is seventh with 2.33 3FG's per game and ninth with 8.0 rebounds. As a team, Ohio State ranks either first or second in scoring (90.0), scoring margin (+25.0), FG percentage (.479), 3FG percentage (.400), rebounding (50.3), rebounding margin (+16.0), assists (21.3) and assist/turnover ratio (1.31).
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-UAB Recap
Preseason All-American Jantel Lavender scored 21 of her 30 points in the first half and the Buckeyes beat UAB 88-55 on Tuesday night. Lavender came close to outscoring the Blazers in the first half when she hit 10-of-11 field goals en route to a 43-24 advantage for the Buckeyes. She made both of her shots in the second half and added five free throws before leaving the game with 10½ minutes remaining and Ohio State comfortably ahead.Brittany Johnson had 15 points and Samantha Prahalis added 13 for the Buckeyes (3-0). Tamika Dukes led the Blazers (1-1) with 20 points and Amber Jones scored 11. UAB was within 19-17 before the Buckeyes gradually pulled away, helped by hitting nine straight field goals in the final seven minutes before halftime. Lavender was a major part of the surge. The center scored on a turnaround from five feet, from underneath on rebounds, on a jumper with her foot on the 3-point line and off the fast break with a layup.
THE WNIT FIELD
Friday's results
Ohio State 91, Eastern Illinois 68
West Virginia 79, Towson 42
Florida Gulf Coast 66, UTEP 54
Oklahoma State 67, Arkansas-Little Rock 58
Georgia Tech 63, Winthrop 30
Bowling Green 76, Chicago State 41
Marist 80, North Carolina A&T 64
New Mexico 81, Northern Colorado 59
Second round games
Sunday, Nov. 15
Ohio State 91, Bowling Green 72
Oklahoma State 70, Georgia Tech 64
New Mexico 80, Florida Gulf Coast 64
Monday, Nov. 16
Marist 50 at West Virginia 55
Semifinal
Wednesday, November 18
Oklahoma State at New Mexico, 9 p.m. ET
Thursday, November 19
West Virginia at Ohio State, 7 p.m. ET
Consolation Round 1
Friday, November 20
North Carolina A&T vs. Chicago State at Towson, 5 p.m. ET
Eastern Illinois vs. UTEP at Arkansas-Little Rock, 6 p.m. ET
Winthrop at Towson, 7:30 p.m. ET
Northern Colorado at Arkansas-Little Rock, 8:30 p.m. ET
Consolation Round 2
Saturday, November 21
NCA&T-Chicago State loser vs. Towson-Winthrop loser at Towson, 5 p.m. ET
Eastern Illinois-UTEP loser vs. UALR-Northern Colorado loser at Arkansas-Little Rock, 5:30 p.m. ET
NCA&T-Chicago State winner vs. Towson-Winthrop winner at Towson, 7:30 p.m. ET
Eastern Illinois-UTEP winner vs. UALR-Northern Colorado winner at Arkansas-Little Rock, 8 p.m. ET
Consolation Round 3
Saturday, November 21
Bowling Green at Marist, 1 p.m. ET
Florida Gulf Coast at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. ET
For the complete release, player bios and stats, click the PDF above
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