"At the beginning part of the game I didn't think either team was gonna score, it was such a defensive battle," Penn State coach Rene Portland said on the Penn State Radio Network. "Some shot selections after we stole the ball were dramatic. We stole the ball and Jess [Strom] goes in for a wild layup and it could have been a two-point ball game."
The game started off rough on both sides. Ohio State missed its first 12 field goals and did not score until 12:58. Penn State could only build a 6-0 lead in that time and eventually went to the half trailing 26-14.
Penn State flirted with single-digit deficits for much of the second half but could never get it closer than four points. Strom, who didn't score in the first half, sparked the second-half push.
Multiple times Strom hit a bucket to cut the Ohio State lead under 10, but the Lady Lions' best opportunity slipped away after Strom uncharacteristically missed two free throws that would have cut it to two. Strom had just made a layup when Jen Harris stole the inbounds pass and Strom was fouled hard on her shot attempt.
After Strom missed both shots, Ohio State outscored the Lady Lions 14-8 in the remaining five minutes of play, thanks in large part to sophomore center Jessica Davenport.
"We gave up a lot of foul shots tonight," Portland said of the 24-9 edge in favor of the Buckeyes. "Davenport got most of her points on the line and when you bail her out like that it's a hard thing to overcome."
Davenport scored 29 points, including 13 from the line, to go along with her 16 rebounds and six blocks. Penn State guard Tanisha Wright matched Davenport's 29 points, but Ohio State out-rebounded the Lady Lions 45-28 and controlled the majority of the game.
Wright had nine of Penn State's 14 first-half points, and scored 10 of the next 14 in the second half. As a team the Lady Lions shot just 38 percent from the floor, 22 percent in the first half, and aside from Wright and Strom at the end, the scoring options just weren't there.
Strom finished with 12 points and three assists, and fouled out in the last minute. No other Lady Lion had more than eight points, and two others fouled out.
Ohio State only had four players who scored, with Caity Matter and Brandie Hoskins behind Davenport with 17 and 16 points, respectively. With Davenport and Wright tying in points, it means the Buckeyes center finished the season as the conference's scoring champ. Davenport finished with 19.9 points per game, Wright 19.6.
Penn State will head into the Big Ten tournament this week not as the regular season champion for the first time in three years. The Lady Lions haven't won a Big Ten tournament since the 1995-96 season.
"We have to put all this behind us," Portland said. "It's gonna be a little tough because we're gonna be tired, but we have a big week ahead of us."
