COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Getting physical wasn't all Ohio State's idea.

Jantel Lavender had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the third-ranked Buckeyes to a 91-72 victory over Bowling Green on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the Preseason WNIT.

It was the 39th career double-double for Lavender, an AP preseason All-American.

"They set the tone in how physical the game was," Lavender said. "We can be physical, too. If they throw elbows we can get physical back."

Tayler Hill added 19 points for Ohio State (2-0), while Samantha Prahalis had 14 points and eight assists. Sarah Schulze had nine of her 15 points in the second half when Ohio State led by as many as 32 points.

Tracy Pontius had 18 points and Lauren Prochaska added 11 for Bowling Green (1-1).

Ohio State led 55-28 at halftime as Lavender had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

"They tried to take away our inside game so we made 3-point shots to loosen it up," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said.

A key moment came with 4:29 left in the first half when Bowling Green's Maggie Hennegan fouled Schulze. A technical foul was also given to the Falcons' bench. Maria Moeller made the two free throws for the technical and Schulze hit two foul shots to give the Buckeyes a 40-20 lead.

Hill followed with a free throw a minute later before Bowling Green broke its scoreless drought on a 3 by Pontius to make it 41-23.

Hill, a freshman guard, had six assists and six rebounds.

"I'm surrounded by great players and great coaches," she said.

The Buckeyes finished the half with a 14-3 run with all the points coming from Hill (5), Prahalis (5) and Lavender (4).

"We had trouble adjusting to the physicality of the game and we dug ourselves an early hole that we couldn't get out of," Falcons coach Curt Miller said.

Bowling Green pulled within 27-20 on Jen Uhl's three-point play with 7:21 left in the first half, but Ohio State went on an 18-0 run over the next 4½ minutes.

"The last time we lost in this building we went to the NCAA tournament so I told them maybe this is the start of a big season and we can get to the NCAA tournament again," Miller said, referring to an 89-41 loss on Nov. 12, 2004 in Value City Arena.

"One of the reasons we were excited to play in the WNIT was the opportunity to play a great program like Ohio State," Miller said. "We looked forward to this day to play against a program that truly has a chance to win the national championship this year."

Ohio State will now play the winner of West Virginia-Marist Thursday at 7 p.m. in Value City Arena in Columbus in third round WNIT action. Ohio State will face Alabama-Birmingham at 7 p.m. Tuesday night in a regular-season contest before returning to WNIT action Thursday.

OHIO STATE POSTGAME NOTES

• Ohio State will play the winner of West Virginia-Marist Thursday at 7 p.m. in Value City Arena in Columbus in third round WNIT action.
• The game was the 27th meeting between Ohio State and Bowling Green. The Buckeyes improve their series record against the Falcons to 24-3 and have won the last 11. The last meeting prior to today was in 2004, an 89-41 OSU win in Columbus.
• Ohio State is 97-16 all -time against teams from the Mid-American Conference.

Akron: 6-0
Ball State: 5-2
Bowling Green: 24-3
Buffalo: Never Met
Central Michigan: 4-1
Eastern Michigan: 1-1
Kent State: 11-3
Miami (Ohio): 12-5
Northern Illinois: 2-0
Ohio: 23-0
Temple: Never Met
Toledo: 2-0
Western Michigan: 7-1

• For the first time in program history, Ohio State scored 90 or more points in its first two games of the season. The Buckeyes defeated Eastern Illinois, 91-68, Nov. 13 in the first round of the WNIT in St. John Arena in Columbus.
• Junior center Jantel Lavender moved to 14th on the Ohio State career all-time field goals made list with 540 (500-plus).
• Lavender moved to 9th all-time in career rebounds (500 plus) in Ohio State history with 707.
• Lavender recorded her 39th career double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
• Lavender has now scored in double-figures in all 68 career games - the longest active streak in Division I.
• Junior guard Brittany Johnson made her first 3-pointer of the season after leading the team with 44 in 2008-09.Sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis also knocked down her first 3-pointer of the season after finishing third on the team in 3-pointers made a season ago with 36.
• After scoring 9 points in her collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois, freshman guard Tayler Hill scored 19 points in 32 minutes vs. Bowling Green.
• Ohio State outscored Bowling Green, 28-7, in the final 7:21 of the first half to take a 55-28 lead into halftime.
• Ohio State improves to 132-27 (12 seasons) in Value City Arena.
• Ohio State is 110-9 at home under Jim Foster and 83-5 since the start of the 2004-05 season.
• Ohio State has won 94 of its last 95 games against unranked opponents.
• Jim Foster is now 183-47 at Ohio State and 687-272 overall.

OHIO STATE POSTGAME QUOTES

Jim Foster, Ohio State head coach
On Ohio State's offense
"We had pretty good ball movement today. They tried to take away our inside game so we made 3-point shots. We're a good team and can adjust."

On the team in general
"We are a young team. We have a sophomore and a freshman guard playing. We still have to learn it's a game of 40 minutes playing hard. We can't just play for 20. It was a solid win against a good team today."

On Ohio State's defense
"We did a good job not letting them get stand-still shots in the first half. We wanted them to have to put the ball on the floor and that's what they had to do."

On Bowling Green
"They won 29 games last year. Teams that know how to win play hard. I didn't expect any less than what we got from them today. They're a strong team."

Jantel Lavender, junior center
On what can be learned from this game
"All teams will come out hard. We cannot get lackadaisical. Today, as a team, we learned that."
 
Samantha Prahalis, sophomore guard
On what can be learned from this game
"We play good as a team and when we play together, we are at our best. We need to stay focused the whole game and we will work on that. We have to learn now that other teams can come back."
 
On playing with Tayler Hill
"She can drive and she can shoot. She also makes great passes and is a great player. Having players like her and Jantel makes my job as point guard easier."
 
Tayler Hill, freshman guard
On what can be learned from this game
"We have to make sure we play hard all 40 minutes. I am surrounded by great players and great coaches and I could not do it without them."
 
On advice from older brother P.J. Hill
"College basketball is a different pace and a different tempo. He told me that it would be much more physical. In high school, I always had the ball and here I know that I can move without the ball."

Curt Miller, Bowling Green head coach
On playing Ohio State
"One of the reasons we chose to play in the WNIT was the opportunity to play a program like Ohio State that truly has a chance to win a national championship this season."

On BGSU's slow start
"We had trouble adjusting to the physicality of the game and we dug ourselves an early hole that we just couldn't get out of."

On Ohio State's defense
"They are a much more physical team than we are. Lavender, athletically is a stud and they get great ball pressure at the point of attack."

On the Buckeyes' versatility
"With a team like Ohio State you just have to pick your poison. Obviously, everything starts with [Jantel] Lavender and [Samantha] Prahalis, but they have other people that can beat you - [Sarah] Schulze is lethal shooting the three-pointer, [Tayler] Hill gives them another scoring option, and when [Shavelle] Little returns, she'll be relentless on defense."

Lauren Prochaska, junior forward
On the difference between BGSU's first and second half performances
"I think in the first half we just got frustrated - we were down big and things just weren't going the way we wanted them to. We did a good job coming together at halftime. We knew that if we took better care of the ball and made shots, we could play with them."

On the team's struggles finishing near the basket
"We just need to concentrate more when we get to the basket - we weren't tough enough and we let them push us around. We are definitely capable of finishing those types of shots."