Boston College Athletics
Boston College-Ohio State Women's Basketball Preview
March 22, 2004 | Women's Basketball
March 21, 2004
From the Associated Press
GAME: No. 6 Ohio State (21-9) vs. No. 3 Boston College (26-6).
REGIONAL: Mideast, Second Round.
TIME: Monday, 7 p.m. EST.
SITE: St. John Arena; Columbus, Ohio.
Although Ohio State is the lower seed, it will have the home-court advantage when it faces Boston College in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
After going 14-0 at St. John Arena during the regular season, the Buckeyes took advantage of their superior size in the paint in their 73-67 win against West Virginia in the first round on Saturday.
Jessica Davenport scored 22 points on 10-for-11 shooting and Caity Matter hit five free throws down the stretch to lead the Buckeyes. Matter finished with 15 points, hitting five of six free throws in the final 1:47.
"I think it was just a great atmosphere to play in," Matter said on Sunday. "Any type of player wants to play in an atmosphere like that and we had great fans all year. ... I'm sure they're going to be great tomorrow"
The senior guard averaged a team-leading 14.9 points per game and shot 45 percent from 3-point territory for the Buckeyes during the regular season.
Matter's outside shooting complements Ohio State's size inside. The Buckeyes start the 6-foot-5 Davenport and 6-foot-3 LaToya Turner and bring two players 6-foot-1 or taller off the bench.
Ohio State's 51.5 percent field-goal shooting leads the nation with Boston College coming in second at just under 50 percent.
The third-seeded Eagles have experience playing good teams in front of hostile crowds.
Boston College entered the postseason after one of the biggest victories in school history, a 73-70 win over Connecticut in the semifinal round of the Big East tournament at the Hartford Civic Center.
After snapping the Huskies' 110-game home winning streak in conference games, the Eagles beat Rutgers to capture the Big East tourney title.
"They're a great team and they got a great win up at UConn, but our Big Ten schedule has prepared us for the game that we're going to play," said Davenport.
BC is hoping to make the regional semifinals for the second time in school history after getting by Eastern Michigan in the first round. Kathrin Ress made a backdoor layup with 12 seconds left as Boston College hung on to beat Eastern Michigan 58-56 on Saturday.
Ress led Boston College with 16 points, Amber Jacobs had 13, and Clare Droesch added 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Jessalyn Deveny was held to nine points after averaging 16.5 points during the regular season.
BC has won eight straight and 12 of 13. The Eagles were eliminated by Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Ohio State - C Davenport (12.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg), G Brandie Hoskins (9.1 points, 4.1 apg), C Turner (12.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg), G Kim Wilburn (5.2 apg, 2.9 spg), G Matter (14.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg). Boston College - F Ress (9.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), F Droesch (8.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg), C Maureen Leahy (3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg), G Deveny (16.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg), G Jacobs (14.9 ppg, 4.4 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Ohio State - At-large berth; beat No. 11 West Virginia 73-67, first round. Boston College - Automatic bid, Big East champion; beat No. 14 Eastern Michigan 58-56, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Ohio State - 15-12, 15 years. Boston College - 5-4, 5 years.
