Feb. 12, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Brandie Hoskins and Jessica Davenport keyed a second-half run that broke open a close game and sent No. 7 Ohio State to an 88-77 win over Iowa on Sunday.
With the score tied at 50 nearly 5 minutes after halftime, Hoskins scored six points and Davenport had five as the Buckeyes outscored the Hawkeyes 20-9 over the next 7 minutes.
Iowa hung around, twice cutting Ohio State’s lead to six, but couldn’t get any closer despite shooting 56 percent from the field.
In a matchup of the Big Ten’s top offenses, Ohio State made its first 11 shots, but Iowa stayed in it by making seven of its first 10.
The Buckeyes shot 71 percent in the first half, outdoing Iowa’s 63 percent.
Davenport finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Hoskins had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and had three steals. Marscilla Packer also had 18 points, making four of seven 3-pointers.
Debbie Merrill had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Ohio State (21-2, 11-1 Big Ten), which kept pace with Purdue in the race for the conference title.
Crystal Smith had 21 points to lead Iowa (14-9, 7-5). The Hawkeyes also got 18 points from Megan Skouby, 16 points and three steals from Tiffany Reedy and 13 points and a game-high eight assists from Kristi Smith.