COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Howard University women's basketball team played an aggressive first half, as they battled to a 37-28 margin heading into the lockerroom, but could not sustain its momentum as they fell 73-50 to No. 18 Ohio State (3-0) at Value City Arena on Nov. 22.

Howard (1-3) was paced by Saadia Doyle's game-best 19 points and 12 boards – her second double-double of the season. Tamoria Holmes finished with 16 points in 34 minutes of action. Cheyenne Curley-Payne had a solid night with nine points, four rebounds, and three steals. Nicole Deterville pulled down eight off the glass.

As a team, the Lady Bison finished with a 27.5 shooting clip (10-for-69). HU forced a total of 16 Buckeye turnovers – including 11 in the first half – which they converted into 17 points.

The Lady Bison started the game slow, allowing the Buckeyes to set the tempo with 10 straight points to begin the period. A basket by Doyle at the 15:13 mark put HU on the scoreboard. Howard was down 25-15 with just under nine minutes left in the first stint, until a Holmes layup started a 6-0 run to put the Lady Bison to within four, 25-21. A jumper by the Buckeye's Ashley Adams ignited a 12-7 run for OSU to close out the half and give HU a 37-28 deficit heading into intermission.

OSU pulled away from Howard in the second period, scoring 14 points in the first four-plus minutes for a 51-36 cushion. The Buckeyes led by as many as 21 points (61-40) by the 6:06 mark. The Lady Bison could not recover from the deficit as Ohio State cruised to its third straight victory.

The Bison defense held OSU's Samantha Prahalis to just eight points on the night, after averaging 18.5 on the season. Tayler Hill led the Buckeye offense with 18 points, while Darryce Smith contributed 15 points off the bench. Amber Stokes chipped in with nine.

The Buckeyes went 49-for-60 from the floor (48.3 percent), and won the battle of the boards 48-38.

The Lady Bison is back in action on Nov. 27 at Loyola (Md.) beginning at 2 p.m.