Syracuse did everything by the book Wednesday night. The Orange out-rebounded its opponent, played tough defense and made its free throws. But SU didn’t take one factor into consideration: Ohio State simply couldn’t miss.

The No. 17 Buckeyes’ (3-0) sharp-shooting – 45 percent for the game, 55 percent in the second half – lifted Ohio State past Syracuse, 78-71, at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night. The loss was the first of the season for the Orange (2-1).

‘When you look at the final statistics, we won the game in every statistical category you would look at to determine a winner,’ Syracuse assistant coach Rick Moody said in a phone interview from Columbus. ‘But the one statistic that ultimately determines the winner of any game is field-goal percentage, and they shot 46 percent and we shot 38.’

At the outset, Syracuse’s 2-3 zone aimed to shut down last year’s Big Ten Player of the Year, Jantel Lavender. But Lavender, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, was able to muscle her way to the paint against an undersized Syracuse lineup.

Lavender tallied 22 points off 9-of-11 shooting while hauling in 10 rebounds.

‘We had someone trying to keep her from touching the ball every time down the floor,’ Moody said. ‘We tried to front her and make her work hard just to receive a pass and when she did we had two on her – but she is a great, great player.’

The Orange loss was made worse by the potential injury to junior forward Nicole Michael. With less than four minutes to play, Michael sustained a head injury that required a hospital visit late Wednesday night, Moody said. No official word is available on her status.

Throughout the first half, the Orange zone was puzzled by a balanced offensive gameplan from the Buckeyes. Although the Orange was mainly concerned with Lavender on the inside, Ohio State scored nine of its first 11 points off jump shots from outside the paint.

When sophomore guards Tasha Harris and Erica Morrow stepped out to prevent open shots, the Buckeyes would again use the post-strength and size advantage of Lavender.

‘If you look at the bottom line, she was great from the field and that was the difference in the game,’ Moody said. ‘We didn’t have anybody with her kind of numbers.’

Despite the Buckeyes’ attack, the Orange stayed alive thanks to Morrow. She finished with 23 points, keeping Syracuse in the game in the first half.

Missed opportunities in the second half allowed Ohio State to open up to a lead as large as 14, before a late Orange rally closed the gap to seven.

‘Honestly, we had the opportunities to come back, we had shots, I mean layups that just didn’t go down,’ Moody said. ‘We had every opportunity in the world but just couldn’t get that ball to go down in the end.’

In the midst of the sour evening for the Orange, Moody said head coach Quentin Hillsman rallied his team after the game.The point of Wednesday game was to provide the Orange with some experience playing big games on the road.Despite not winning, Moody said, there were positives to take from SU’s first real road test of the year.

‘We got 15 offensive rebounds in the second half,’ Moody said. ‘So if there’s one statistic that indicates effort, it’s that. So coach was really proud of their effort, he told them that, and we found some things out about our basketball team tonight – we were accepting of the loss.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on November 19, 2008 at 12:00 pm