No. 18 Ohio St. 87, Penn St. 84

2/28/2008 9:14 PM

By GENARO C. ARMAS
AP Sports Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -Ohio State center Jantel Lavender frustrated another opposing coach, an increasingly common occurrence for the talented freshman.

Penn State got an up-close look Thursday night at the 6-foot-4 Lavender, who scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Buckeyes moved a step closer to another Big Ten title in an 87-84 win.

Lavender moved with ease around the bucket, hustled for rebounds and found open players when she was double-teamed. No wonder Nittany Lions coach Coquese Washington wasn't happy after the game.

``We'll try something different next time,'' Washington said. ``We can't guard her 1-on-1, it was hard to guard her when we double-teamed her.''

Ohio State coach Jim Foster said Lavender played more patiently Thursday night than in previous games. The newfound approach paid off as Lavender fell one rebound short of her career high, and tied her best with six assists.

``I rush a lot sometimes and today I was just like, 'You know, calm down and just breathe,'' she said. ``I felt it tonight. And I just knew that if I took my time the shot would be there and I would find my open teammates.''

Penn State's school-record losing streak stretched to 10 games, though the Lady Lions hung close to the Buckeyes all night.

Lavender's tough, running one-hander in traffic in the lane with 1:47 left gave the Buckeyes an 85-80 lead.

But she threw away the ball on an inbounds play with 14.7 seconds left and Ohio State up three to give the Lady Lions a final shot to tie. Kamela Gissendanner's desperation 3-pointer went wide of the bucket with the clock winding down.

It wasn't the play Washington drew up during a timeout before the last possession.

``My chicken-scratch on the board may have confused them a little bit,'' she said.

Gissendanner, a senior, scored 25 points but couldn't secure a win in her final home game. Janessa Wolff scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench for Penn State (13-16, 4-13).

Marscilla Packer added 18 points for Ohio State (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten) despite shooting 4-of-17. The Buckeyes, seeking a fourth straight Big Ten regular-season crown, can finish no worse than a tie for this year's title if they win their regular-season finale Sunday against Northwestern.

The Buckeyes temporarily erased memories of a 69-61 overtime loss Monday to Indiana. Officials on Wednesday said there was a scoring error during the game that incorrectly gave Indiana a point for a disqualified free throw with 2:38 left in regulation.

Foster demurred when asked if Ohio State should look into the matter more given the possible ramifications for conference tournament seeding.

``We're going to work at beating Northwestern on Sunday,'' he said. ``I'm not someone that thinks about the past too much.''