NCAA: A Look Inside the Ohio State Women's Basketball Team

Last year, the Ohio State women’s basketball team finished 13-15 overall last year and 5-11 in the Big Ten, but those weren’t the only problems that plagued the Buckeyes. They have survived the Mixu Moua controversy (her suspension and then reinstatement to the team), and the loss of backcourt sensation Laura Ingham (she transferred to the University of Nevada for reasons not stated).

Yes, the Buckeyes have survived, and learned from the past. They are more like a family this season, and it is evident there is no “I” in team for these women. Oh yes, Ohio State has learned.

In fact, they have not only learned to win, but they have learned to win with consistency.

The Buckeyes have 8 wins this season, and 0 losses. That’s right, no losses. They are averaging 51% from the floor, out-rebouding their opponents by 8 boards per game, and averaging 86.5 points per game--34.5 more than their opponents. So what makes this team so good?

Their backcourt. Their frontcourt. Their bench.

Senior Jamie Lewis, who recently passed Olympian and Ohio State alum Katie Smith for third place in OSU’s record books for career assists, leads the Buckeyes with 9.4 assists per game. She also pours in 13 points per game.

Also in the backcourt is junior Tomeka Brown, a defensive specialist, who chips in 7.1 points per game and is second on the team in both assists (2.9 per game) and steals (2.4). She is an experienced scorer (she averaged 31.1 ppg as a junior in high school) and is capable of having a breakout season.

In the middle is 6-4 sophomore LaToya Turner. She leads the Buckeyes in four different categories. This girl can do it all, averaging 18.6 ppg, 7.3 boards per game, 2.75 blocks per game, and 3 steals a game.

In the frontcourt Ohio State can count on freshman Caity Matter, sophomore Courtney Coleman and sophomore D’wan Shackleford. Matter is averaging 4 rebounds per contest, while Coleman averages 10.6 ppg and 5.1 rebounds per game and “Shack” chips in 2 steals a game.

Ohio State also has consistent role players and players willing to step up in big games. Senior Courtney Bale notched 20 points in the Buckeyes’ win over Finland. Junior Lauren Shenk scored 22 in their win over Rhode Island to win the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage last month.

The Buckeyes are also in first place in the Big Ten, a conference which has hoop powerhouses Penn State, Purdue, and Illinois. It should be a great match-up when Ohio State faces its first Big Ten team (Indiana) on December 28 in Columbus, Ohio. From then, the remaining 15 games are against Big Ten teams.

With their balanced attack and quality bench players, the Ohio State women’s basketball team looks to make a run at the Big Ten title, and perhaps we will see them in March for the NCAA Tournament.