March 21, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Tip
The Ohio State women's basketball team (29-4) reached the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third-consecutive season with an 86-45 win over Holy Cross Sunday at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. The win moves the Buckeyes into a matchup with No. 7 seed Maryland (22-9) of the Atlantic Coast Conference at about 9:30 p.m. EST Tuesday in the Comcast Center.

The winner of the Ohio State-Maryland game will advance to the regional semifinals next week in Philadelphia. Maryland, the No. 7 seed, advanced through the first round with a 65-55 victory over No. 10 seed UW-Green Bay.

Davenport Named Finalist for Naismith Trophy
Sophomore center Jessica Davenport was named one of four finalists Sunday for the 2005 Naismith Trophy by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. The award, which honors the Player of the Year in women's basketball, will be presented at a banquet April 8 in Atlanta.

Davenport is joined by LSU's Seimone Augustus, Duke's Monique Currie and TCU's Sandora Irvin as finalists.

Buckeyes Break All-Time Single-Season Win Record
Ohio State picked up win No. 29 on the season with its 86-45 victory against Holy Cross Sunday in the first round of the NCAA tournament to establish a program record for wins in a single season. The 29th victory surpassed the 28 contests won by the 1992-93 national runner-up squad that finished with a 28-4 record. The 1984-85 team also recorded 28 wins against three losses.

Purdue holds the all-time Big Ten mark for wins in a season with 34 in 1998-99.

Another Double-Double for Davenport
Sophomore center Jessica Davenport recorded her 13th double-double of the season (at least 10 points and 10 rebounds) and 17th of her career with 23 points and 11 rebounds Sunday vs. Holy Cross. The double-double against the Crusaders is the first for Davenport in her three career NCAA tournament games.

Davenport is the eighth Buckeye all-time to register a double-double in an NCAA tournament game. LaToya Turner was the last Buckeye to accomplish the feat March 20, 2004 with 10 points and 11 rebounds against West Virginia in the first round at St. John Arena.

Former Buckeye Tracey Hall (1985-88) posted five double-doubles in the NCAA tournament during her career.

Recapping The First-Round Victory Over Holy Cross
Ohio State opened each half in strong fashion against Holy Cross in the first round Sunday. The Buckeyes used a 20-2 run from 17:09 to the 9:01 mark in the first half take a 22-6 lead over Holy Cross and headed to the break with a 42-24 advantage.

To start the second half, the Buckeyes held the Crusaders scoreless until the 14:56 mark as part of a 15-0 run that moved the OSU advantage to 57-24. Ohio State cruised to its second-largest margin of victory in NCAA tournament play with an 86-45 win.

Jessica Davenport led the Buckeyes with 23 points and 11 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season. Brandie Hoskins added 14 points and a season-best eight assists, while Caity Matter dropped in 12 points.

Noting The First-Round Win vs. Holy Cross
*The win Sunday vs. Holy Cross upped Ohio State's all-time NCAA tournament record to 16-13. The first-round game Sunday marked the 15th appearance for an Ohio State team in the NCAA tournament.

* All 12 Buckeyes that saw action Sunday scored, while 10 of the 12 played at least 10 minutes.

* Jessica Davenport's 23 points Sunday served as a career-high in NCAA tournament action, topping the 22 she scored last season in the first-round victory over West Virginia March 20, 2004. She also pulled down 12 rebounds, which bested the two 6-rebound efforts she had last season against West Virginia in the first round and vs. Boston College in the second round.

* The 41-point win over Holy Cross Sunday tied the second-largest by an Ohio State team in NCAA tournament play. The Buckeyes also won by 41 points March 20, 1988 by a 116-75 count against Syracuse in the second round. Ohio State defeated Holy Cross in the second round of the 1985 NCAA Tournament by a 102-60 score March 17 in St. John Arena, a 42-point margin.

* The Buckeyes shot 60 percent (18-30) from the field in the first half to take a 42-24 lead into the break. With the win, Ohio State improved to 27-1 when leading at the half. The Buckeyes shot 53.1 percent (34-64) for the game, upping its record to 20-0 when making at least half their attempts from the field.

* The Buckeyes committed just eight turnovers Sunday against Holy Cross to tie their season low for 2004-05. Ohio State turned over possession eight times at Dayton Dec. 4, 2004 and vs. Minnesota Feb. 17, 2005.

* Freshman center Alice Jamen pulled down a career-best eight rebounds, topping her previous high of four done twice this season.

* The Buckeyes scored 52 points in the paint compared to 18 by Holy Cross. The Buckeyes also held a decided edge in fast break points at 19-0 and points off turnovers at 25-8

* With the 86-45 win, Ohio State improved to 11-0 when holding opponents to less than 50 points in a game. The Buckeyes also improved to 9-0 when scoring more than 80 points in a game.

* Ohio State held Holy Cross to just 29.1 percent shooting from the field on 16-for-55 shooting by the Crusaders. The 29.1 percent is the second-lowest figure for an Ohio State opponent this season. The 16 field goals also are the second lowest by a team against the Buckeyes this season. Ohio shot 21.2 percent against the Buckeyes on 14-66 shooting Dec. 4, 2004. St. Joseph's made 11 field goals against Ohio State Nov. 14. Ohio State improved to 28-3 on the season when holding opponents to less than 50 percent shooting from the field.

Buckeyes and Terrapins Familiar Faces in NCAA Tourney Play
Ohio State and Maryland have met twice in their history, with both matchups coming in the NCAA tournament.

The Buckeyes won the first meeting, 87-71, in the second round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament March 16 in St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Nikita Lowry (1986-89) led the Buckeyes with 26 points and eight rebounds.

The teams met two seasons later in the regional semifinals of the 1988 tournament. Maryland turned the tables on the Buckeyes with a 78-66 victory in Atlanta. Lowry captained the Buckeyes again with 15 points and a game-high five steals.

How Maryland Advanced
No. 7 seed Maryland defeated No. 10 UW-Green Bay Sunday, 65-55, to set up the match up Tuesday vs. No. 2 Ohio State.

The Terps and Pheonix played to a 24-all tie after the first half and were knotted again at 43 with just more than 10 minutes remaining before Maryland went on an 11-0 run during the next five minutes and held on for the win.

Shay Doron, an All-America candidate at guard, scored 26 points to lead the Terps, while freshman center Crystal Langhorne posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Matter Just Shy Of 1,500 career points, Member Of All-Time Top 10
Senior Caity Matter moved to within one point of the 1,500 career mark after scoring 12 points against Holy Cross Sunday. Matter sits in 10th place all-time with 1,499 career tallies.

With one more score, Matter will become the 10th player at Ohio State to score 1,500 career points.

Ohio State in NCAA Tournament Second-Round Games
Ohio State has played in 10 second-round games in its 15 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes boast a 6-4 mark in those contests, but have dropped second-round decisions in each of the last two seasons. Last year, Ohio State, seeded sixth, suffered a 63-48 defeat to No. 3-seed Boston College at St. John Arena in Columbus. In 2003, No. 5-seed Louisiana Tech eliminated the No. 4-seeded Buckeyes via a 74-61 score.

The Buckeyes won their first five second-round games in the NCAA tournament, all of which came after a bye in the first round.