COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Preseason All-American Jantel Lavender and No. 3 Ohio State wore down Alabama-Birmingham.

Lavender scored 21 of her 30 points in the first half and the Buckeyes beat UAB 88-55 on Tuesday night.

"Once I realized and heard how hard the other post players were breathing I was like, 'You've got to dig deep and run extremely hard every time,' because they were pretty winded," she said.

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.

"She's just a phenomenal player," UAB coach Audra Smith said. "I've got some injuries with some of those big kids and they haven't had the opportunity to really get in and condition as well as the guards. One of the things that hurt us was we weren't able to keep up with her in transition."

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.

"We played an absolutely terrific first half," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said.

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.

"It's not often you find a kid that size [6-foot-4] with the ability to run the floor in transition like she does. She finishes so well around the basket," Smith said.

The Buckeyes host West Virginia on Thursday in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT. 

OHIO STATE POSTGAME NOTES

• The game was the first ever meeting between Ohio State and UAB.
• The 33-point margin of victory was the largest for the Buckeyes since a 92-58 defeat of Army Nov. 16, 2008. The 26 made free-throws by Ohio State were the most since the Buckeyes converted 27 in that game against Army.
• They Buckeyes are now 3-0 this season and 45-2 since the start of the 2007-08 season when they outshoot their opponents at the free throw line.
• The Buckeyes dished out 23 assists for the second-consecutive game.
• Tuesday marked the first time the Buckeyes faced a member of Conference USA since Dec. 17, 1999. With the win, Ohio State moved to 12-4 all-time against current members of Conference USA.
• The 24 points the Buckeyes allowed in the first half were the least Ohio State has given up in a half since Iowa scored 17 in the first half of the Big Ten Tournament semifinals March 7, 2009.
• With 53 first half points, Ohio State has scored 50-plus points in one half of each game this season. The Buckeyes did not score over 50 in any half last season.
• Ohio State connected on 19 first half field goals for the second consecutive game. The 70.4 percent shooting in the first half was the Buckeyes' highest in a half since Dec. 6, 2006 when they connected on 19-of-26 shots (73.1 percent) in the second half against Alabama A&M.
• Junior center Jantel Lavender sits at 14th on the Ohio State career all-time field goals made list with 552 (500-plus).
• Lavender sits 9th all-time in career rebounds (500 plus) in Ohio State history with 713.
• Lavender connected on 12-of-13 shots from the field, a 92.3 percent clip. It tied for the best shooting game of her career as she finished 12-of-13 against Delaware State last season. It was the fifth 30-point game of her career.
• Lavender has now scored in double-figures in all 69 career games - the longest active streak in Division I.
• After leading the Buckeyes with 44 three-pointers last season, junior guard Brittany Johnson hit multiple threes for this first time this season. The 15 points by Johnson were a season-best and three short of her career high.
• Sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis has dished out eight assists in each game this season.
• Ohio State improves to 133-27 (12 seasons) in Value City Arena.
• Ohio State is 111-9 at home under Jim Foster and 84-5 since the start of the 2004-05 season.
• Ohio State has won 95 of its last 96 games at home against unranked opponents.
• Jim Foster is now 184-47 at Ohio State and 688-272 overall.
• Ohio State will play West Virginia Thursday at 7 p.m. in Value City Arena in Columbus in third round WNIT action. The Buckeyes look to improve to 10-0 all-time against the Mountaineers.

Audra Smith, UAB head coach
On Ohio State junior center Jantel Lavender
"I've seen Jantel play since probably the 9th grade and I've watched her all through high school. She is a phenomenal player. It's hard to find such a big player with such great hands who can run the floor like she does. She's an unbelievable player."

On UAB's offensive rebounding
"We really emphasized getting after the offensive boards in practice and I think we did a good job attacking the glass tonight. It's one of those little victories that we have to build upon."

On Ohio State's shooting percentage
"Ohio State shooting 70 percent from the floor is no surprise. It's obvious that they do what they have to do to get better. As a group, they're very confident."

Jim Foster, Ohio State Head Coach
Thoughts on tonight's game
"Tonight we played more zone. We had a different combination of players out on the court. I think the game was choppier in the second half. They were calling a lot of fouls. We had to work through that."

On Brittany Johnson's performance
"Brittany had some good looks tonight.  She played much more defensive and got to the foul line. She is a good foul shooter, so that is a good way for her to get points.  Four assists and zero turnovers.  She had a good game."

On what to work on
"There were some awkward rebound situations. Our guards need to learn to cover low and box out off the boards.  This game was a teaching point in that perspective."

Brittany Johnson, junior guard
On if she was thinking about her scoring
"I think I came out with more focus. I came out playing hard and getting my teammates open, things like that."
 
On not scoring too much in the first two games
"I didn't think about that. My coaches said I did the other things like passing and getting my teammates open."
 
Samantha Prahalis, sophomore guard
On things that worked well during the game
"The pick and roll worked well. We were aggressive and it was a team thing."
 
On UAB players being tired
"I could definitely tell they were a little winded.  It also helped with Jantel running the floor."
 
Jantel Lavender, junior center
On sitting out the last ten minutes
"I did not mind at all. Our team is deep enough to go with our post players. They deserve to play."
 
On UAB post players
"They were pretty winded and I noticed that early. I'm trying to make my game more difficult for posts to guard."