Buckeyes clinch tie for fourth title in row

March 3, 2008 at 5:53AM

Buckeyes clinch tie for fourth title in row • NO. 18 OHIO ST. 74, NORTHWESTERN 50: Tamarah Riley giggled just thinking about it. Asked what she'd remember most about the day, she said, "I'd say after the game, all of us getting together and saying, 'Not one, not two, not three, but four!'" Marscilla Packer scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half as the Buckeyes (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten) beat the Wildcats (5-25, 1-17) in Columbus, Ohio, and became the first team in 18 years to win as many as four consecutive Big Ten titles. The Buckeyes clinched a tie for the championship with Iowa, which won at Wisconsin 87-78 an hour earlier.

Ohio State won at least a piece of the first five Big Ten crowns from 1983-87. Iowa took home trophies four years in a row from 1987-90.

"We've been talking about it from the beginning of the season -- let's be four-time champions," Packer said. "It's kind of weird: Are we really seniors now? It went so fast."

• IOWA 87, WISCONSIN 78: Johanna Solverson and Kristi Smith scored 18 of the Hawkeyes' first 20 points and led them over the Badgers (16-12, 9-9) in Madison for a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

Iowa (20-9, 13-5) took a 20-4 lead in the first eight minutes and won as Solverson finished with 31 points and Smith with 20.

Wisconsin, which entered the game with a five-game winning streak, cut the margin to one point at 69-68 on a pair of free throws by Janese Banks with less than five minutes to go but was not able to pull out front.

The Badgers finished with five players in double figures, led by Lin Zastrow with 17.

• INDIANA 79, PENN STATE 67: Nikkie Smith and Kim Roberson scored 17 points each and led the Hoosiers (17-13, 10-8) over the Nittany Lions (13-17, 4-14) in Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers ended their season before a crowd of 8,136, the largest crowd ever to see an Indiana's women's game at Assembly Hall.

• ILLINOIS 63, PURDUE 55: Senior Stephanie Chelleen saved the best performance of her career for her final regular-season home game, scoring 14 points as the Illini (16-13, 8-10) beat the Boilermakers (15-14, 11-7) in Champaign, Ill.

Chelleen made four three-pointers in the final 7:04, ending any hopes the Boilermakers had for a comeback.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

about the writer

about the writer