Nittany Lions knock off OSU women

Penn State claims share of first Big Ten title since 2004 with 84-66 victory.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Nikki Greene had 25 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 11 Penn State beat No. 8 Ohio State 84-66 on Monday night, clinching at least a share of its first Big Ten title since 2004.

Mia Nickson also had a double-double with 18 points and 15 boards. She and Greene combined for 25 points and 19 rebounds alone in the first half as the Lady Lions (22-5, 11-3) built a 15-point halftime lead.

It was more than enough cushion against the Buckeyes (23-4, 10-4), who never got closer than 13 the rest of the way. Penn State also clinched the top seed in the conference tournament, which starts next week in Indianapolis.

Samantha Prahalis had 16 points and eight assists for Ohio State.

But Monday belonged to Lady Lions, who outrebounded the Buckeyes 60-32.

Greene had a double-double in the first half alone with 16 points and 10 boards. She showed a lethal combination of muscle and athleticism after grabbing two rebounds on the offensive end with 3:50 left in the first half, deftly stepping around a defender on the baseline for a layup and a 37-26 lead.

All five Penn State starters scored in double digits.

Tayler Hill had 16 points for the Buckeyes, while Kalpana Beach added 12.

No. 3 Notre Dame 68, No. 16 Louisville 52: Skylar Diggins scored 21 points, and freshman Kayla Mcbride added 15 to move the Fighting Irish one step closer to a Big East title.

Notre Dame (26-2, 13-1) controls its destiny in its quest for its first regular-season league championship since tying Connecticut for it in 2001.

Men

Connecticut 73, Villanova 70 (OT): Shabazz Napier swished a 29-footer with 0.6 seconds left in overtime, and Jeremy Lamb scored a career-high 32 points to lift Uconn (17-10, 7-8 Big East).

Ty Johnson appeared to send the game to double OT on his tying layup for Villanova (11-16, 4-11) off a missed Uconn free throw. But Napier hit the pull-up 3 to keep the defending champion Huskies’ NCAA tournament hopes alive.

Ohio State’s Tayler Hill (4) drives to the basket past Penn State’s Alex Bentley during the No. 11 Nittany Lions’ 84-66 win over the No. 8 Buckeyes in State College, Pa., on Monday.