Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Tuesday, January 10, 2006

In a match-up that featured two of the best post players in the country, Ohio State came from behind to defeat Oklahoma 75-71 in Columbus on Monday night in a nationally televised game. Sooner freshman sensation Courtney Paris outplayed reigning Big 10 POY Jessica Davenport for most of the game and finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes.

However, it was Davenport who made a turnaround jumper with 3.4 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 73-71 lead. When asked about the shot, Davenport replied "I turned over my shoulder and didn't picture a defender there. I took my time and made it. It is a shot that we practice everyday in our practice drills."

Oklahoma led by as many as 10 (33-23) in the first half with great ball movement, cuts to the basket and the imposing presence of Paris. Despite the Sooners shooting over 54% from the floor, Ohio State was able to cut the deficit to 35-30 at halftime. In the second half, the Sooners jumped out to a 40-32 lead. But then the Buckeyes turned it on with the hot shooting and playmaking of Brandie Hoskins.

Breaking out of a four game shooting slump, Hoskins took over the game in the second half and scored all of her 16 points. Buckeyes coach Jim Foster explains it was a tale of two halves. “The old Brandie played the first half,” he said. “The new Brandie played the second half and the new Brandie is tougher to guard. She needs to use the mid-range jumper and she did. She’s been accustomed to taking the ball to the basket her whole life.” Perhaps most interesting is that Hoskins did this while Davenport sat on the bench.

While this was a better showing against the Big 10 for the Sooners than their two previous match ups, Sooner coach Sherri Coale felt her team let this one get away. "I thought we fought. We never went away on the road in a hostile environment and played well but we let this one get away."