RUSTON, La. - Kim Wilburn scored 19 points as Ohio State beat Weber State 66-44 in the first round of the West Regional on Sunday night.

Fourth-seeded Ohio State, which went 14-15 last season, is in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999. It's the 18th trip to the NCAA tournament for first-year coach Jim Foster, who also coached at Saint Joseph's and Vanderbilt.

Ohio State (22-9) did exactly what Foster has urged all season - played tough defense. The Buckeyes held opponents to a Big Ten-leading 57.4 points per game. They allowed 14th-seeded Weber State to shoot only 33 percent (17-52).

Weber State (21-9) could not cope with the bigger Buckeyes, who outrebounded them 39-25 and shot 50 percent from the field (25-of-50). Three of Ohio State's starters were 6 feet or taller. Weber State's 6-foot starter was Angela Sampson.

Hughes product Courtney Coleman scored 13 points for Ohio State and LaToya Turner added 12.

Julie Gjertsen led Weber State with 18 points.

The Buckeyes hit 14 of 18 free throws. The Wildcats did not get to the free-throw line until the 8:59 mark of the second half when Gjertsen made two.

Ohio State led 29-15 at halftime.

Weber State was making its second straight tournament appearance.

I'M SORRY: Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma apologized Sunday to the young reporter he chastised on national television earlier this month after the Huskies lost their first game in two years.

Auriemma bristled at questions from Amanda Alnutt, a student reporter from the UConn newspaper, The Daily Campus, in a news conference after UConn's 52-48 loss to Villanova in the Big East tournament championship.

"I don't want you to feel bad about asking questions. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. Don't change on account of me," Auriemma told Alnutt during a news conference after UConn beat Boston University 91-44 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional.

The March 11 loss to Villanova snapped UConn's 70-game win streak. When Alnutt inquired how Auriemma would prepare his team for the NCAA after the loss, he snapped at her, saying her questions ticked him off.

Alnutt said she appreciated the coach's gesture.

"It was a classy thing to do," she said. "But he didn't have to do it. He's a professional."

INVISIBLE TEAM: LSU coach Sue Gunter calls her Lady Tigers "the invisible seed."

LSU, which earned the top seed in the NCAA West Regional - the school's highest seeding ever - plays Wisconsin-Green Bay tonight in a second-round game. The West Coast time zone, the late start of the games and a delay of Saturday's first-round game have kept the spotlight off the Lady Tigers (28-3).