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No. 10 Ohio State women beat Princeton 90-70

Dec 19, 2015 - 3:04 AM COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio State guards Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell were too much for Princeton.

Alston scored 27 points and Mitchell added 25 to help No. 10 Ohio State beat Princeton 90-70 on Friday night.

Alston made 10 of 16 field goals and had six assists, and Mitchell was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 10 of 15 overall for the Buckeyes (7-3). They've won three straight, outscoring opponents by an average of 24 points.

''Ameryst and Kelsey were both excellent tonight,'' Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. ''They moved the ball. They made others around them better. They took great shots. They made shots.''

Shayla Cooper added 10 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in 21 minutes off the bench.

''She gives us a presence at the offensive and defensive ends,'' Alston said.

Michelle Miller led Princeton (9-2) with 21 points. The Tigers had won seven straight, but hit only 12 of 35 field goals (34.3 percent) in the first half and fell behind 52-30.

''Part of the game is scoring,'' Princeton coach Courtney Banghart said. ''If you look back through, we chart our shots to see what kind of looks we get, I think I'd take all those shots all over again, just hope they go in.''

Ahead 13-12 with 3:27 left in the first quarter, the Buckeyes scored the final 10 points, five of them by Mitchell and four from Alston, for a 24-12 advantage.

''To score 12 points in the first quarter is not Princeton basketball,'' Banghart said.

It was 34-17 early in the second before Princeton outscored the Buckeyes 9-3 to pull to 37-26. But Alston hit a pair of 3-pointers and Mitchell added a 3 during a 15-4 stretch for the big lead into halftime.

''It was all about the pace,'' Alston said. ''When you push the ball on the offensive end it puts pressure on the defense. Great intensity on defense causes you to turn the ball over or do something you don't want to do.''

Mitchell had 17 points and Alston 14 in the first half and the Buckeyes hit 60 percent (21 of 35) from the floor. They also outscored Princeton 10-0 off turnovers and 9-0 on fast breaks through two quarters.

''We were all dialed in from start to finish,'' Mitchell said. ''We were all prepared.''

BOARD GAME: Princeton entered the game sixth in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-15.8, but each team finished with 33. ''It was a huge point of emphasis,'' McGuff said. ''They're a very disciplined rebounding team and a very physical rebounding team. Our kids really answered the challenge in that part of the game.''

TIP-INS

Princeton: The previous meeting was Dec. 21, 1979, at Princeton when Ohio State beat the Tigers 87-58.

Ohio State: Cooper, reserve guard Chelsea Mitchell and assistant coach Mark Mitchell returned after serving one-game suspensions vs. North Carolina AT&T on Sunday because of what head coach Kevin McGuff said was conduct ''detrimental to the team.'' Chelsea is the twin sister of Kelsey and Mark Mitchell is their father. ''(Cooper) played really hard, physical,'' McGuff said. ''We gave us a real boost off the bench with some energy.''

WHAT'S NEXT

Princeton: The Tigers continue their trip through Ohio with a game Sunday at Dayton.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes will face Virginia on Monday in the third game of a four-game homestand.