Roughly 180 miles north of the campus of Ohio State, the No. 2 UConn Huskies faced the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines in an early season blockbuster matchup in NCAA women’s basketball. In the Schottenstein Center, Ohio State women’s basketball had a game lower on the schedule of the day’s billing against the Central Michigan Chippewas. While the Huskies and Wolverines played a close game, the Buckeyes got up big and kept it going in a 103-36 victory.
In the crowd, fans received light-up dub crown headbands,
paying homage to the piece of headwear awarded by the Buckeye coaching staff to who they deem is the player of the game, or made an important contribution. The lights on the crowns flashed and kept going for the two hours of lopsided basketball.
On Monday, Ohio State had another big win against the UIC Flames but slowed down in parts, mainly a by-product of poor shooting in the third quarter that allowed the visitors a quarter of competitive basketball. Thursday, the Buckeyes started fast and kept their feet on the pedal most of the night.
“I thought today we had a bad stretch to start the second quarter,” head coach Kevin McGuff told reporters. “We finished strong heading into halftime and then played pretty well in the second half. So closer to 40 minutes of playing the game the way we want to play it.”
That “bad stretch” was an eight-point run for Ohio State. It took 4:07 of the second quarter clock for Central Michigan to even get on the board. While the criticism seems harsh, the margin for error in these mid-major non-conference games is wide and with the UConn Huskies headed to Columbus in one week, being tough is needed. That meant as the game wore on into the second half, McGuff kept on his team and yelled at them to get back up the court on defense after missed shots on offense, for good reason.
“Our team is a little bit new, so with the the subbing and the people that we have on the floor, it’s good to continue to keep playing because these are game day reps that you’re getting with these people,” said guard Kennedy Cambridge. “Don’t take that for granted.
The 6-for-21 three-point shooting night on Monday made way for a 12-for-35 performance. Guard Ava Watson hit identical corner threes to start the game and Kennedy Cambridge added another. That was the start of a game that was never close. Watson led the way with 4-of-9 deep shooting and Kennedy Cambridge went 3-for-5.
Within the Buckeyes’ 103 points, Ohio State scored 54 points off turnovers. The Chippewas did not waste time on offense, which played right into the hands of the home side. Central Michigan was creative in how they gave the ball away, there were the quick and accurate swipes from the Buckeyes with 23 steals, two shy of the program record. The 44 forced turnovers was one away from a 27-year old record. Central Michigan’s pace of play fed right into the Scarlet and Gray defense.
“I enjoy it,” Watson told reporters.
“I don’t,” replied Kennedy Cambridge.
“Why?” replied Watson.
“I like it when they slow,” said Kennedy Cambridge with a grin.
Part of the grace of a matchup like a Big Ten team against a MAC side were turnovers on Ohio State’s side of things. The 44 turnovers for the Buckeyes was one better than the side’s season high last year, against Niagara. However, the Scarlet and Gray gave the ball away 21 times themselves.
Central Michigan’s defense was part of those turnovers. The Chippewas played a 1-3-1 zone on defense and rushed two-to-three players on a shooter as the Buckeyes passed the ball from sideline to sideline. That turned into turnovers as players passed into clogged space, stepped out of bounds or had the ball swatted away. Kennedy Cambridge had five of those turnovers, although the redshirt senior more than made up for it with five steals and 16 points in 22 minutes on the court.
Now, some of those turnovers get chalked up to Kennedy Cambridge’s bigger slice of the offensive workload. The guard gets the ball more often and makes plays on offense. With more of the ball there will naturally be more turnovers, but how the side kept care of the ball bothered the Buckeye’s eldest player.
“That’s just unacceptable. And I got to do better. Our team’s got to do better, and we gotta take care of the ball,” said Kennedy Cambridge. “The more we’re able to help each other, to know that I was in trouble and somebody should have flashed, somebody should have helped. But I think that’ll play itself out over time.”
A positive for the side is that Jaloni Cambridge was not all of the offense. All 10 players on the team scored and five players hit double-digits. Jaloni Cambridge had 15 of her 23 points in the first quarter on 4-for-5 shooting and three of those came from beyond the arc. Plus the junior had four assists and a steal in eight first quarter minutes. The point guard combined with Elsa Lemmilä and the pair were leaders both outside of the paint and inside.
In the first quarter, Jaloni Cambridge sent a ball up in the air that Lemmilä leapt, caught and hit the layup before landing back on the court. Moments later, Lemmilä did the same and found Jaloni Cambridge inside while the 6’6 center stood at the top of the arc. Lemmilä only played 19 minutes and went 6-for-6 from the field.
On top of all of that, freshman forwards Sydney Mobley and Adriana Díaz made their presences felt. Mobley became the first Buckeye freshman since Dorka Juhász in 2018 to score at least 10 points in the first two games of college basketball. The Central Ohio native, who is only 17 years old, showed poise inside, used her size and never seemed to rush shots by the basket. Mobley has played two mid-major sides, but its a good sign for Ohio State that she has not looked phased in those games.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” said McGuff. “I’m just happy that she’s here and she’s playing, and we’re seeing what I thought she could be.”
In terms of Díaz, the Spanish youth international had another difficult shooting day going 2-for-7 from the floor but a lot of those misses came in the paint under duress. Central Michigan swarmed the forward whenever she got close to the basket, but that did not mean Díaz was limited in her impact on the game. Díaz had 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. Those assists too come from a player who shows that she has a strong history of games under her belt.
Díaz moves the ball quickly and accurately. On a first quarter loose ball, Díaz grabbed it, turned around and launched a pass to Jaloni Cambridge at the top of the arc in one motion. Jaloni Cambridge put it away. The pass from Díaz split two Chippewas and took next to no time getting there to give Jaloni Cambridge time to shoot before the defense closed in on the point guard.
“I always have to be ready if she gets the ball because she’ll just rocket. She’ll just shoot it at you,” said Watson. “I love it because she’s so aware and as a big and being in the paint, she just knows where everyone’s at on the court, and I love that.”
Up in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines defeated the Huskies thanks to a late run. In one week, the Buckeyes have their own chance to try and repeat that performance and show how far the team has come in one season. Last year the Buckeyes fell 100-68 to UConn. Does a game like Thursday’s win over Central Michigan show anything that benefits Ohio State against a team on the other side of the success spectrum in head coach Geno Auriemma’s Huskies? It will not take long to find out.
