OSU's Star Shines Brightly On Senior Day
Photo By Terry Gilliam
by Mike Wachsman
Posted 03-02-09
Star Allen took the old adage to heart about saving the
best for last.
The senior from Columbus Independence scored a career-best 25 points and
yanked down nine rebounds while dishing out four assists and blocking three
shots as the Ohio State women's basketball team claimed a fifth straight Big
Ten title with a 74-63 victory over visiting Penn State Sunday afternoon.
The 5-10 Allen scored 10 of OSU's first 12 points, and assisted on the one
basket she wasn't responsible for, as the Buckeyes jumped out to a 12-3 lead
early in the contest. OSU (24-5, 15-3) led 44-28 at halftime and was never
really in danger of losing, though Penn State did make a spirited run to cut
the margin to 63-57 late in the second half. But OSU regrouped and put the
game away, and will head into the Big Ten Tournament, which begins on
Thursday in Indianapolis, as the top seed.
"I definitely felt the energy today," Allen said after the game. "I can't
believe my time is already up because it feels like it wasn't that long ago
that I first got here. I was definitely focused on playing well. We wanted
to come out as a team and really get the job done and head into next week
with some momentum."