No. 2 Ohio State 68, Oakland 45

3/19/2006 11:43 PM

By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Ohio State was too big, too strong and too athletic for 16th-seeded Oakland on Sunday.

The top-seeded Buckeyes (29-2) took advantage of a huge size disparity inside, going repeatedly to 6-foot-5 Jessica Davenport and 6-1 Debbie Merrill as they rolled to a 68-45 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Next up is eighth-seeded Boston College, which defeated Notre Dame 78-61 to reach Tuesday's second round of the Albuquerque Regional.

Davenport, the Big Ten Conference's player of the year, had a double-double in the first half and finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds - a school record for boards in an NCAA tournament game. Merrill had 23 points, four rebounds and four assists.

They combined to hit 20 of 29 shots while the rest of the Buckeyes were 12-of-40.

Oakland (15-16), the Mid-Continent Conference champion, was led by Nicole Piggott with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Anne Hafeli finished with 13 points in the Golden Grizzlies' second NCAA tournament appearance.

It wasn't nearly enough to contend with Ohio State, which tied a school record with its 20th straight win and moved within one of the record for most wins in a season. The Buckeyes' winning streak became the longest in the country when Connecticut beat Coppin State on Sunday night to snap the Eagles' 26-game run.

Ohio State's strategy against Coppin State was obvious almost from the opening tip.

Davenport exploited her 4-inch height advantage by scoring Ohio State's first eight points as it broke to a 10-2 lead, and when Oakland tried to double-team Davenport, the Buckeyes let Merrill go to work 1-on-1.

She scored six points in an 8-3 run that gave the Buckeyes a 25-10 lead midway through the first half. Ohio State led 35-20 at halftime.

Little changed in the second half.

Davenport and Merrill scored the first five points to give the Ohio State a 40-20 lead, and the Grizzlies only got as close as 16 the rest of the way.

The Buckeyes reached the second round for the fourth straight year and have not been lost in the first round since 1999.