TicketsWomen's Basketball Falls to Ohio State on Last-Second Shot
3/14/2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Tomeka Brown made an acrobatic layup at the buzzer to give Ohio State a 61-60 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday night in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.
Brown left her feet and grabbed Caity Matter's desperation heave. Before hitting the floor, she tossed the ball over her head with two hands and it slipped over the rim and through the net as the buzzer sounded.
Valerie King scored 25 points for the Bearcats, who couldn't hold a 60-52 lead with 2:05 remaining. They committed three turnovers and missed four free throws down the stretch.
Jamie Lewis started the comeback for Ohio State (18-11) with a layup. Brown made two free throws and Lewis was 1-for-2 at the line to pull the Buckeyes to 60-57 with 1:16 to play.
Cincinnati's Laura Wilder was called for traveling on the Bearcats' next possession, and Brown made two free throws to make it 60-59 with 1:04 left. Brown scored all six of her points in the final two minutes.
The Bearcats (22-10) had two chances to extend their lead in the last 10 seconds, but Wilder missed two free throws with 4.7 seconds to go and two more with 3.3 seconds left.
After her final miss, Ohio State got the rebound and called a timeout. Inbounding from under her own basket, Emily Haynam threw a baseball pass over half court. Matter went over two defenders to catch the ball, turned and threw up an off-balance 3-point attempt from about 35 feet.
Her shot fell about a foot short to the left of the rim, but Brown timed her leap perfectly to grab the ball and score.
Lewis scored 22 points for Ohio State.
Tammy Douglass added 10 points and 15 rebounds for the Bearcats, who had to open the postseason on the road despite having five more victories and two fewer defeats than the Buckeyes.
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