Feb. 20, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
| Game Notes 
// Box Score
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Unlike the game played only hours earlier in Mackey Arena, it was the Buckeyes that delivered the final knock-out punch to steal a game in West Lafayette. Ohio State's Brittany Johnson hit a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining to give the Buckeyes a 76-74 win against the Boilermakers.
It was a much closer affair than the one in Columbus on Feb. 10, where Ohio State won by 23 points. Ohio State came into the contest on a three-game win streak while Purdue had won its last two outings. Purdue wore white uniforms with pink trim and the fans were dressed in pink to support the WBCA Pink Zone initiative for breast cancer awareness.
Ohio State scored the first points of the game but a Drey Mingo shot at 18:10 gave the Boilermakers a lead they would not relinquish until the final minute of the contest. Four and half minutes in, the teams were tied, but a Brittany Rayburn three broke the deadlock. Another three by Courtney Moses halfway through the first half would put the Boilermakers up by 11, Purdue's largest lead of the game. The Boilermakers took a 38-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Ohio State's Jantel Lavender picked up two early fouls, but still managed to score 11 points and grab five rebounds before the break. Rayburn led all players with 12 points on 2-of-6 shooting and seven free throws. Mingo was also in double-figures at the half with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The second half started with a 7-2 Ohio State run to bring the game within two points. But junior Antionette Howard scored Purdue's next six points and the Boilermakers would stretch the lead back to nine points as Alex Guyton and Sam Ostarello got involved in the offense. With just under 10 minutes to go, Moses made her second trey of the night, putting Purdue's lead back in double-digits at 10 points. But with 1:54 remaining, Ohio State's Brittany Johnson made a three-pointer - one of nine on the night by the Buckeyes - to bring the margin back to two points.
A three-ball by Prahalis with 41 seconds on the clock gave Ohio State its first lead since 2-0. Purdue responded with a layup by Antionette Howard with 20 seconds to go. Ohio State called a timeout to set up its final play. Purdue's defense kept forced the ball out of the hands of Lavender and Prahalis, but Johnson hit a three-pointer in the deep corner with 0.7 seconds on the clock. It was her fifth trey of the night. Purdue attempted a half court pass to Rayburn that was intercepted by the Buckeyes to seal their victory.
Mingo scored a career-high 25 points and finished one board shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. Rayburn contributed 14 points while Moses ended up with 11. Howard recorded eight points, a team-high five assists, five rebounds and a steal. Purdue easily had the rebounding advantage, 38 to 29, in part due to Sam Ostarello's seven rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
For Ohio State, Lavender finished with 23 points and nine boards. Prahalis added 19, Brittany Johnson contributed 15, all on three-pointers and Tayler Hill scored 12. Buckeye freshman Ashley Adams had seven blocks as Ohio State blocked a season-high 10 shots.
Purdue has one game left in the regular season before the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis on March 3 to 6. The Boilermakers will travel to University Park, Pa., to take on Penn State on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be available via a live video web stream on bigtennetwork.com