Buckeyes hope return to NCAA tourney top seeding leads to more history

3/16/2006 9:27 PM

The last time Ohio State earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women's tournamnet, it advanced all the way to the 1993 national title game.

This season's Buckeyes claimed the second top seed in school history, hoping to do that squad one better and win the tournament. They begin that quest Sunday in a first-round game against Oakland, Mich., at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., as part of the Albuquerque Regional.

Ohio State (28-2) has won its last 19 games, the second-longest streak in school history, and is in the NCAA Women's tournament for the fourth straight year. The Buckeyes became just the third team in Big Ten history to win both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles after a 63-60 win March 6 over Purdue.

Junior center Jessica Davenport - the two-time Big Ten player of the year - averages 20.4 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who reached the regional semifinals in 2005.

``We worked hard all season,'' said Davenport, who scored 17 points in the Big Ten tournament final. ``We're going to play one game at a time.''

Buckeyes senior guard Kim Wilburn was more emphatic about the team's tournament goal.

``I'm very grateful for the No. 1 seed,'' she said. ``Now, we're about getting the job done.''

Buckeyes coach Jim Foster earned his fourth career No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney after doing so three times with Vanderbilt.

Junior guard Brandie Hoskins was named Big Ten tournament's Most Outstanding Player after averaging 15.0 points in Ohio State's run to its first conference tourney title. She is one reason Foster sees his team as more than a one-woman attack.

``We got better through the course of the year,'' he said. ``Initially, we were one-dimensional with Jess (Davenport). But we got Brandie, Marscilla (Packer), Ashley (Allen) and Kim to score too.''

Oakland (15-15) is a surprise entrant from the Mid-Continent Conference after winning the conference tournament. The Golden Grizzlies defeated the top three seeds en route to the title, including a 65-56 win over regular-season champion Western Illinois to secure the automatic berth.

It is just the second time Oakland is in the field of 64, and coach Beckie Francis has led the team to both appearances. She led the Golden Grizzlies to their first-ever NCAA tournament berth in 2002, and after a three-year hiatus, returned this season to duplicate the feat.

The winner of this game willplay either No. 8 seed Boston College or ninth-seeded Notre Dame in the second round Tuesday.