Junior forward Becca Mills shoots as Ohio State center Lisa Blair guards Feb. 15, 2014, at Breslin Center. The Spartans defeated the Buckeyes, 70-49. Erin Hampton/The State News
A 17-2 first half run and big performances from several players helped the No. 25 women’s basketball team (17-8 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) defeat Ohio State (14-14, 4-8) at Breslin Center Saturday night, 70-49.
Junior forward Becca Mills had 17 points, eight rebounds, a career-high five blocks and two steals. Senior forward Annalise Pickrel had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and redshirt freshman guard Aerial Powers had 15 points, six, five assists, two steals and five turnovers.
Ohio State sophomore guard Ameryst Alston led all scorers with 25 points but needed 32 shots.
Due to an Ohio State administrative technical foul before the game, freshman guard Tori Jankoska, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds, shot and made a technical free throw before the opening tip. MSU started hot, building a 10-2 lead and forcing the Buckeyes to call timeout early.
Mills found a rhythm early, making her first five shots. She was fouled on a turnaround with 15:49 on the clock, making it a 14-4 lead going into the first media timeout.
Ohio State junior guard Raven Ferguson nailed a corner 3 to trim the lead to seven, but Powers responded with a 3-pointer of her own to make it a 10-point game. Senior guard Klarissa Bell assisted Pickrel on a layup in transition to give the Spartans a 21-9 lead with 11:47 left in the first, forcing another Ohio State timeout.
The Buckeyes utilized a half-court press and went on a 6-0 run to cut the score to 21-15 with under eight minutes remaining. Bell got to the line and made both free throws to add cushion to the score, but an aggressive move to the rim by Ferguson narrowed it back to six.
MSU soon regained command of the game. Powers sank an open 3-pointer with 5:02 on the clock to extend the lead to 11, 30-19. Pickrel located Hines under the rim for a lay-in, and Pickrel hit two free throws on the next play to make it a 15-point game.
Jankoska nailed her first triple of the game with 2:30 on the clock, giving the Spartans a 16-point lead. Powers assisted Pickrel on a layup in transition to make it an 18-point advantage, 39-21, with 2:13 left in the first half.
Jankoska got the Spartans on board in the second half with her second 3-pointer of the night, giving MSU a 22-point lead. Becca Mills hit another one to push it to 25.
Ohio State cut it to 17, but a Pickrel 3-pointer and Jankoska layup pushed it back to 22.
Powers took the ball coast-to-coast to tie MSU’s biggest lead margin at that point, 59-34. Mills completed a three-point play to give the Spartans a 28-point lead with 9:32 on the clock.
An 15-2 run helped the Buckeyes trim the lead to 15 with under two minutes remaining, 64-49. But it was too little, too late. The Spartans scored the last three buckets to seal the bounce-back win.
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