No. 7 Ohio St. 84, Sacred Heart 40

12/20/2005 10:42 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Jessica Davenport helped Ohio State move past its only loss of the season and back into the win column.

Davenport, an All-American center, had 19 points and eight rebounds, and No. 7 Ohio State bounced back from its only loss with an 84-40 victory over Sacred Heart on Tuesday night.

Davenport also recovered from a poor performance. She was held to 14 points in a 64-48 home loss to No. 3 LSU on Thursday, when she was constantly double-teamed.

Davenport's teammates asked her to do more to get open.

``I just wanted to be more aggressive,'' Davenport said. ``I wanted to be a better target for my teammates. They got on me when I wasn't.''

Debbie Merrill added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Buckeyes (7-1). Brandie Hoskins scored 12 points and Kim Wilburn had 10.

Nicolle Rubino led Sacred Heart with 13 points.

Ohio State easily handled the Pioneers (6-2) after doing little right against LSU.

Buckeyes coach Jim Foster said there was no connection.

``If you dwell on the past, you're doomed to fail in the future. We thought nothing about that game and wanted to attack this game by itself,'' he said.

The Buckeyes shot 51.5 percent from the floor, rebounding from a 33 percent shooting effort against LSU. Ohio State held Sacred Heart to 30.6 percent shooting and scored 29 points off 29 turnovers.

``We came out with a lot of intensity and executed really well. Tonight, we did just about everything right,'' Wilburn said.

Davenport and Merrill helped Ohio State outscore Sacred Heart 52-12 in the paint, and the Buckeyes outrebounded the Pioneers 49-22.

Davenport shot 8-for-10 from the floor against Sacred Heart center Kaitlin Sowinski, who shot 1-for-8.

``Our post players were making themselves better targets tonight and our guards were recognizing that and getting them the ball,'' Foster said.

Ohio State shot 22-for-37 (59.5 percent) in the first half and built a 47-21 lead. The Buckeyes scored the first eight points on four layups, including three by Davenport, and added scoring runs of 15-3 and 14-2 before halftime.

``I don't think we were scared, because we've been in games like this. But when you shoot 26 percent in the first half and turn it over where it leads directly to points, it's not going to be a good half,'' Sacred Heart coach Ed Swanson said.

Sacred Heart leading scorer Amanda Pape was held to seven points, well below her 17 points per game average. She was 1-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line and finished with eight turnovers.