ESTERO, Fla. -- A sizable contingent of Ohio State fans came to the Gulf Coast Showcase in southwest Florida, where the weather happens to be just a bit nicer than back home.Those fans will be free to watch a certain football game Saturday afternoon.Kelsey Mitchell scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, and No. 8 Ohio State used a late 11-0 run to pull away and beat Florida Gulf Coast 79-66 on Friday in the tournament quarterfinals. The win means the Buckeyes (4-1) play on Saturday night -- instead of playing a consolation matchup in the afternoon, which would have been during the Michigan-Ohio State showdown back in Columbus.Ive been at Ohio State three years and I never got a chance to experience `The Game, Mitchell said. Hopefully we can give back, watch them, cheer them on.Mitchell got better as the game went on, still having a big night despite not getting her first basket until the second quarter. She had 19 of her 25 points after halftime.Shes going to be the first pick, FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. Whenever she comes out shell be the first pick in the WNBA draft. Shes that good.Shayla Cooper finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Buckeyes. Stephanie Mavunga added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Ohio State.I thought it was a great challenge for our team, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said.Taylor Gradinjan and Nasrin Ulel each scored 13 for Florida Gulf Coast (2-3), which trailed by one at halftime and was still within five points early in the fourth.The Eagles -- who are playing this weekend about two miles from their campus -- were 12 for 37 from 3-point range and 8 for 30 from inside the arc.Im a little bit mixed emotions right now, Smesko said. Im disappointed because we didnt work as well together as I thought we should of. But then at the same time I saw us do some things well and move in a positive direction.Mitchell had five of the 11 points in the decisive run for Ohio State, starting it with a layup and adding a 3-pointer. The Buckeyes held a 52-31 rebounding edge, 25-11 in that department after halftime.Ohio State led by as many as 12 in the third, but Ulel -- who logged six scoreless minutes in her lone collegiate appearance entering Friday -- made three 3s in the final 2:30 of the quarter, and FGCU was within 54-48 headed to the fourth.Knowing we were in Florida, playing a team like Florida Gulf Coast, we could never get comfortable, Mitchell said.BIG PICTUREFGCU: Gradinjan left the court briefly in the first half while getting her left leg bandaged. She also had to be taken out early in the fourth quarter, favoring the leg slightly. ... The Eagles need only look at last season when figuring out how to overcome a slow start. They were 1-2 last year and finished 33-6.Ohio State: Mitchell is now the Buckeyes career leader in 3-pointers made, getting No. 271 to fall late in the third quarter. She passed Caity Matter, who made 270 from 2001-05. Mitchell didnt know she was even nearing the record. Aw, thanks, she said. ... Even though they trailed for only 1:18, the Buckeyes were tested -- there were six ties and six lead changes.HOMECOMINGS, SORT OFThis weekend is taking Smesko back to his roots. Hes a native of Ohio, and theres a chance he could face his alma mater -- Kent State -- when the three-team, eight-team tournament wraps up on Sunday.UP NEXTFGCU: Either No. 11 Syracuse or George Washington on Saturday.Ohio State: Either No. 11 Syracuse or George Washington on Saturday. Raymond Clayborn Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. J. D. Smith Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-johnny-strzykalski-jersey-large-1121f.html . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Joe Montana Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. J. J. Stokes Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. HONOLULU -- North Carolina coach Roy Williams did not mince words after his fifth-ranked Tar Heels struggled in the first half before pulling out their latest win.Isaiah Hicks scored 10 of his 16 points after halftime to lead five players in double-figures as North Carolina (4-0) beat Hawaii 83-68 Friday night.Its one of the ugliest games Ive ever coached in my entire life, Williams said, but we made some shots during a stretch in the second half that gave us the lead.North Carolina never trailed outside of the opening minutes and held a 35-27 lead at halftime despite shooting just 35.1 percent from the field. The Tar Heels had shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of their first three games.Hicks said Williams message to the team at halftime emphasized defense.He said that shots were going to fall, but weve got to be better on the defensive end, continue to rebound, get to the board and try to get them out of what they do early on, said Hicks, who shot 7 of 8 from the field.Kennedy Meeks and Nate Britt had 13 points apiece. Justin Jackson scored 11 and Tony Bradley contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, off the bench.He really gave us a lift, Hicks said of Bradley, a freshman center. Thats what really got us through the game, especially Tony just getting to the boards, getting the rebounds and second-chance shots.North Carolina led by as many as 18 in the closing minutes. The Tar Heels shot 63.3 percent (19 of 30) in the second half and finished with a 46-23 rebounding edge.Their size created some issues, but we cant lean on that, Rainbow Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. Theyre bigger than us, theyre stronger than us -- those are facts -- but what we need to focus more on is how to get it done.Hawaii pulled to 40-37 on Jack Purchases banker with 16:27 left, but North Carolina answered with a 12-2 run that that was capped by a 3-pointer by Kenny Williams from the right wing that stretched its lead back to 64-49.dddddddddddd.Noah Allen, a UCLA transfer, led Hawaii with 22 points. Jack Purchase added 14 and Sheriff Drammeh 13 for the Rainbow Warriors (2-2).BIG PICTURENorth Carolina: Junior guard Joel Berry II entered averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game, but was held to just two. His only basket came on a 14-foot pull-up jumper with about 5 minutes left. ... The Tar Heels depth was evident as they dominated Hawaii in bench scoring, 28-12.Its not a concern; Its a good thing, Williams said of Berrys night. Ive never seen him miss and go one-for-nine. Then again, in the first half our starting one, two and three men were 1 for 16 and thats not good.Hawaii: The young Rainbow Warriors have only three active players back from last seasons squad that won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in school history. Hawaii dropped to 19-104 against Top 25 teams, including a 2-19 mark vs. top-5 squads.KEY NUMBERSNorth Carolina took advantage of its size against the smaller Rainbow Warriors by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and held a distinct edge in second chance points, 28-8. Hawaii had nine turnovers in the first half, but finished two below its season average of 16 for the game.We cut down the turnovers, but we made them at critical times. We just couldnt get over that hump because we couldnt execute at key points, Ganot said.UP NEXTNorth Carolina: The Tar Heels, who are 30-5 all-time in the 50th state, will face their second straight Hawaii opponent when they take on Division II Chaminade in a Maui Invitational quarterfinal Monday.Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors will host Division II Hawaii-Hilo on Tuesday, their fifth of 13 straight games on-island to open the season, although five of them are part of two tournaments (Pearl Harbor Invitational, Diamond Head Classic). ' ' '
