Purdue rips OSU for title

Ohio State forward Star Allen gets that boxed-in feeling as she is defended by Purdue's Erin Lawless, left, and Jodi Howell.

INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio State expended too much energy getting to the Big Ten women's basketball tournament final to win the championship.

The fifth-ranked Buckeyes, drained after an overtime win over Penn State in Sunday's semifinals, lost 64-52 to No. 12 Purdue in the final last night.

Ohio State (28-3) fell behind 21-0 and didn't make a field goal for more than 10 minutes to start the game. Jessica Davenport finally made Ohio State's first basket with

9:36 left in the first half after the Buckeyes missed their first 13 shots.

Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton had and 21 points and 13 rebounds for Purdue (28-5).

Davenport acknowledged that OSU was affected by playing less than 24 hours after their 73-71 win over the Nittany Lions.

"Maybe a little bit, but you can't make excuses," she said. "It's the championship game and you go out there to play to win."

Davenport scored 30 points in the quarterfinals against Indiana and 32 against Penn State, both season highs. She scored 22 points against Purdue on 9-for-19 shooting and played every minute of a game for just the second time this season. It showed at the free-throw line. She made 4 of 8 free throws after entering the tournament shooting 77 percent from the line.

"It's kind of frustrating when the shots you normally make don't go in," Davenport said.

Ohio State coach Jim Foster called three timeouts in the first half to help his players catch their wind. Still, Purdue found a way to grab nearly every loose ball and tip. Ohio State got outrebounded 34-28.

Foster said there was more to Ohio State's troubles than fatigue. He said he was forced to play reserves Shavelle Little and Andrea Walker more minutes than usual.

"We had a couple of players not at the intensity level that is necessary in a championship game," he said. "We kept looking down the bench to find people."

The Buckeyes also lacked depth because guard Marscilla Packer still wasn't 100 percent after she sprained her left ankle in the quarterfinal against Indiana. Packer had seven points and four assists in 29 minutes.