COLUMBUS, Ohio – The buzz created from last season's run to the NCAA Sweet 16 has carried over into the 2009-10 campaign. Two preseason publications, Athlon and Lindy's, have the Ohio State women's basketball team at No. 3 in their respective preseason Top 25 rankings behind UConn and Stanford.

Big Ten rival Michigan State, which also made it to the Sweet 16 last season, comes in at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively.

Much of the preseason praise stems from Ohio State's potent inside-outside duo of Jantel Lavender and Samantha Prahalis. Lavender, who averaged 20.8 ppg and 10.7 rpg last season as a sophomore, took home State Farm/WBCA and USBWA All-America honors last season and also won Big Ten Player of the Year honors for the second-consecutive year. Prahalis was dubbed the Big Ten freshman of the year and led the Big Ten in assists with 5.8 per game. In addition, the Buckeyes return senior two-time Big Ten defensive player of the year in Shavelle Little. 

In all, Ohio State returns four starters from last season -- junior Brittany Johnson being the other -- and is coming off a record-setting 2008-09 campaign. The Buckeyes won their record-tying fifth-consecutive Big Ten regular-season championship, won the Big Ten tournament title and advanced all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16. They recorded 29 wins, which tied for the third-most in Division I. 

In addition to the preseason rankings, Lindy's placed Lavender and Prahalis on its preseason All-America second team. Lavender also was included on Athlon's preseason second team.  

Ohio State has two Top 10 opponents on its 2009-10 schedule with Duke and Michigan State. The season begins Nov. 13 at home against Eastern Illinois in the opening round of the WNIT. 

Athlon Preseason Top 10
1. UConn
2. Stanford
3. Ohio State
4. Duke
5. Michigan State
6. Texas
7. Xavier
8. Baylor
9. Georgia Tech
10. North Carolina

Lindy's Preseason Top 10
1. UConn
2. Stanford
3. Ohio State
4. Tennessee
5. Notre Dame
6. Duke
7. Michigan State
8. Rutgers
9. Baylor
10. Oklahoma