Tribune News Services
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jantel Lavender controlled the middle and Samantha Prahalis took care of the perimeter work, leading No. 10 Ohio State past Illinois 66-55 in Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
Lavender, the Big Ten player of the year, finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Prahalis had 13 points and eight assists. The Buckeyes (28-4) are the defending tourney champs and will face either Purdue or Wisconsin in Saturday's semifinals.
Illinois (16-14) was led by Jenna Smith, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds. She fell three points short of breaking Illinois' career scoring record but did set a new single-season record for rebounds at Illinois.
Lacey Simpson had 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Buckeyes built a 10-point lead midway through the first half and were in control the rest of the game but couldn't close it out until the closing minutes.
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