No. 24 Buckeyes trip No. 9 Spartans, 67-53

1/16/2011
ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jantel Lavender had 24 points and No. 24 Ohio State broke out of a slump to beat No. 9 Michigan State 67-53 Sunday, ending the ninth-ranked Spartans' 14-game winning streak.

The teams had been going in opposite directions. The Spartans (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) had not lost since their third game of the season on Nov. 19 at No. 2 Baylor. The Buckeyes (11-6, 2-3), the six-time defending conference champs, had dropped six of nine since a 7-0 start.

After weeks of shooting poorly, Ohio State hit 43 percent from the field while the Spartans had their worst shooting game of the year, hitting just 29 percent — including making only 2 of 23 behind the arc.

Tayler Hill added 17 points and Brittany Johnson 10 for the Buckeyes. Cetera Washington had 12 for the Spartans.