Lavender gets hot in time for No. 3 Ohio State, leading Buckeyes to 83-71 win over No. 22 Cal

Lavender leads No. 3 Buckeyes past No. 22 Cal

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jantel Lavender broke out of a shooting lump to score 11 points during a big second-half surge, and No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 22 California 83-71 on Sunday in the finals of the Buckeye Classic.

After hitting 5 of 15 shots in the semifinals, Lavender hit all four of her field goals and both free throws as the Buckeyes (8-0) used a 15-0 run to take a 60-47 lead.

Lavender finished with 33 points and 14 rebounds, with Samantha Prahalis adding 14 points and 14 assists. Sarah Schulze scored 15 points, all on 3-pointers.

California (3-2), which lost to its second top-10 team in eight days, was led by Alexis Gray-Lawson’s 25 points. DeNesha Stallworth added 13 points and Gennifer Brandon 12.