COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Martina Ellerbe drilled four straight free throws to start the second half to give Ohio State the lead for good and sparked an 89-78 win over No. 17 Purdue Thursday night in a Big 10 Conference opener.
The Buckeyes led by as many as 16 points with four minutes left on back-to-back layups by Raven Ferguson. The Boilermakers got no closer than 10 points down in the closing minutes.
Ellerbe and Ameryst Alston each finished with 19 points to lead Ohio State (11-6, 1-0 Big Ten). Cait Craft and Darryce Moore finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. But the Buckeyes shot 56 percent from the field (31 of 55) and converted 20 of 26 free throw attempts.
KK Houser scored 26 points to lead the Boilermakers (10-3, 0-1).
The Buckeyes are the lone Big 10 team to own a winning record against Purdue and now leads the series 41-27.
