Lavender, No. 3 Buckeyes blow past Blazers

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jantel Lavender scored 21 of her 30 points in the first half and No. 3 Ohio State beat Alabama-Birmingham 88-55 on Tuesday.

Lavender came close to outscoring the Blazers in the first half when she hit 10 of 11 field goals en route to a 43-24 advantage for the Buckeyes. She made both of her shots in the second half and added five free throws before leaving the game with 10 1/2 minutes remaining and Ohio State comfortably ahead.

NO. 6 TENNESSEE 91, TEXAS TECH 53 — In San Antonio, Taber Spani scored 18 points and Glory Johnson added 17 points to lead Tennessee past Texas Tech.

Shekinna Stricklen added 16 points for the Lady Vols, who traveled to San Antonio with hopes of getting back to the Final Four city come April. They arrived with No. 1 Connecticut and No. 10 Texas, which played in the second game of the doubleheader.

NO. 8 BAYLOR 100, TENNESSEE TECH 55 — In Waco, Texas, Baylor freshman phenom Brittney Griner had 10 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and missed her only dunk attempt before fouling out with 10 minutes left in the eighth-ranked Lady Bears' home opener, a victory over Tennessee Tech.

The 6-foot-8 Griner tried a right-handed slam just over 3 minutes into the second half, but the ball caromed off the back of the rim. She did rebound her miss and was fouled on a putback try, then made one of the free throws to put Baylor (2-0) up 51-29.

NO. 13 FLORIDA STATE 66, FLORIDA 62 — In Gainesville, Fla., Chasity Clayton scored 13 points, Christian Hunnicutt added 10 and Florida State beat rival Florida.

The Gators (1-1) led 62-60 with 2:02 to play, but the Seminoles scored the last six points of the game. Alexa Deluzio's jumper with 37.4 seconds left made it 64-62.

Jacinta Monroe finished with nine points and 11 rebounds for Florida State (2-0).

Sharielle Smith led Florida with 18 points and 13 boards. The Gators were just 9 of 31 from behind the arc. Jordan Jones added with 13 points and five assists for Florida. She had a chance to tie the game at 65, but her shot from the top of the arc clanged off the basket with 7 seconds left.

HARTFORD 62, NO. 23 LOUISVILLE 50 — In Hartford, Conn., Erica Beverly had 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Hartford upset Louisville.

Ilicia Mathis and Diana Delva also scored 14 points for the Hawks (2-0), who have knocked off a ranked-opponent for the fifth straight season.