Jantel Lavender had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Samantha Prahalis added 21 points and 11 assists, and Ohio State beat No. 23 Penn State 89-67 on Thursday night.
Tayler Hill scored 19 points to help the Buckeyes (16-9, 7-6 Big Ten) win their third straight. Still, Ohio State was eliminated from the contention for its seventh straight regular season conference title when Michigan's State beat Northwester 72-62.
Zhaque Gray and Mia Nickson had 14 points for the Lady Lions (21-7, 10-4), who fell 1 1/2 games behind the Spartans.
Ohio State had a 23-point lead with 14:40 to play. After Penn State pulled within 10, the Buckeyes scored seven consecutive points to increase the advantage to 74-57 with 6 minutes remaining.
The Nittany Lions, winless in their last six trips to Columbus, were looking for their first season series sweep since 2000-01.
