Ohio State 78, Tennessee State 51

Jim Foster, Ohio State head coach

On the game

“We started the game aggressively and showed great continuity in the second half. As a team we rebounded well and there were five players in double figures, terrific game.”

 

On coaching a young team

“We are the youngest team in the Big Ten but we have a veteran backcourt, which is a contradiction, but it seems to work very well for us.”

 

Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State guard

On in-game injury

“I got caught in the air and as I fell, I felt someone underneath me and then somebody stepped on my ear and then the cramp came.”

 

On the team’s performance

“The defense was good, the energy was good, but we did lose some focus in the second half because we had a big lead.”

 

Kalpana Beach, Ohio State forward

On her first start

“I just knew it would be different than high school. I just went out there and played as hard as I could. I had an idea I would be starting before the game began, but I wasn’t told until right before tip.”

 

Tayler Hill, Ohio State guard

On freshman Kalpana Beach

“She’s energetic and is a big body for us down in the paint. She brings a lot to the game both offensively and defensively.”

 

Tracee Wells, Tennessee State head coach

Opening statement

“I’m very pleased with the second half effort that my team made tonight. They scored 30 points in the second half and we scored the same. We have a long road ahead of us, but tonight we saw a lot of ways to prepare for the conference season.”

 

On Ohio State’s play

“They were bigger than us and we allowed passes to go right to them. We allowed too many easy scores. The first 10 minutes of the game, it took us too long to do what we needed to do.”

 

On Ohio State’s youth

“We knew coming into the game that they were gong to be finding their identity as a team. We understood that this was going to be a test for them to figure out who works best in those positions. We just wanted to get out there and put five people out in front of their five.”

 

On what Tennessee State learns from playing Ohio State

“These games definitely help us because we’re not going to see this kind of size in our conference. It gives us confidence playing against four or five players who are 6’5”, when we see only one player of that size in our conference. Now we know we can go up with confidence.”