No. 4 Ohio St. 73, Dayton 31

12/1/2005 12:11 AM

By RUSTY MILLER
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - It wasn't a work of art. Rather, it was just another win for No. 4 Ohio State.

Brandie Hoskins scored 16 points and Jessica Davenport chipped in with 14 to help the Buckeyes record their fourth consecutive lopsided win, 73-31 over Dayton on Wednesday night.

``Not every game is going to be pretty,'' coach Jim Foster said. ``Over the course of a season, those teams that can win ugly games, they're going to have the best seasons.''

The Buckeyes (4-0) never trailed, mostly because the Flyers never had more points than they had turnovers. They turned the ball over 32 times while shooting 26 percent from the field (11-of-43).

``We weren't being smart with the ball,'' Dayton coach Jim Jabir said. ``The worst thing I could say is we were scared.''

Marscilla Packer added 13 points and Kim Wilburn had 10 for the Buckeyes, who won their 19th consecutive home game.

The Buckeyes had plenty of open shots on the perimeter because Dayton tried to surround the 6-foot-5 Davenport whenever she got the ball inside.

``I think that's great,'' said Davenport, a first-team All-American a year ago. ``When the other team tries to take one thing away from our team, it gives other players opportunities to make plays. Eventually, it'll open things up for me.''

Foster wasn't saying that the Buckeyes played poorly, however. They had only 11 turnovers, dominated on defense, scored 16 points off of their fast break and distributed the ball to open shooters all night.

``I thought we played hard and intense,'' Foster said. ``We had good guard play. They tried to take away our post play and Brandie had 16, Marscilla had 14 and Kim had 10.''

It was Ohio State's 16th victory in a row over an in-state opponent, dating to a 68-63 loss to Xavier early in the 1998-99 season.

Jennifer Strong and Ashley Armstrong each had six points for Dayton (2-2).

``We were amped to play a ranked team but the people we count on for scoring weren't able to hit any shots,'' Flyers center Cara Wright said.

The margin of defeat matched the second-largest for the Flyers, trailing only a 46-point loss to Memphis in 1995.

The Buckeyes led 36-14 at the half despite going scoreless for almost 5 1/2 minutes - although Dayton only scored two points over that same span.

Ahead 13-7 with 8:19 left in the half, Ohio State scored 12 of the next 13 points. Hoskins had a driving layup and two free throws during the surge, while Tamarah Riley started it with two free throws, Packer made a breakaway layup and Davenport ended the spurt with a shot in the paint to make it 25-8 with 5:08 left.

``It was 13-7 and we were competing,'' Jabir said. ``But you have to score with them because they are going to score. ... We couldn't run our offense. That was our issue tonight.''

The Flyers piled up 19 turnovers in the first half, many of them without any defensive pressure being applied.

``We like easy baskets,'' Hoskins said. ``Those just make our defense that much more intense, which helps set up our offense.''

Ohio State then scored the first 11 points of the second half to push the lead to 45-14.

``We try to wear them down through the game,'' Wilburn said of the guards' defensive pressure. ``It's not always looking for the steal, but you try to make the next pass a little harder for them.''

The Buckeyes, who have led the nation in field goal percentage the past two years, had an off shooting night. They hit 45 percent from the field, well under their 58-percent average coming in.

The game wasn't much of a tuneup for Ohio State's next three opponents: games at Boston College and Southern Cal followed by a home showdown with No. 3 LSU on Dec. 15.

``We're going to face two good teams on the road, but our practices have prepared us for what we're going to face,'' Hoskins said. ``There's no need to be scared.''