For possibly the last time in the 2025-26 season, No. 13 Ohio State women’s basketball was at home Wednesday night. The Buckeyes welcomed the No. 8 Michigan Wolverines in the latest edition of the storied rivalry between the two schools. After winning five of the last six games against the Wolverines, Michigan and Ohio State battled through overtime and crazy last second moments. The Wolverines came out on top late in overtime to win 88-86.
First quarter
If there was any doubt about Ohio State’s preparation for
the higher-ranked Michigan side, the Buckeyes squashed it quickly. After the two sides took turns hitting baskets to start the game, the Scarlet and Gray got hot from beyond the arc. Specifically, bench guard Bryn Martin. The freshman went 3-for-3 from deep with extended minutes due to a quick trip to the bench for guard Jaloni Cambridge with a minor knock and two early fouls from guard Kennedy Cambridge.
Both Kennedy Cambridge and Michigan guard Brooke Quarles Daniels, who are first and second in the conference, respectively, in steals per game, picked up two fouls in the opening minutes to find a spot on the sidelines.
However, that deep shooting from Ohio State opened the game up to a 14-point lead after the first quarter. The Buckeyes were the aggressors on offense with 16 of the last 22 points going their way in the final half of the opening period, but basketball is a long game.
Second quarter
In 3:13 of game clock, the Wolverines made it a three-point game and soon after tied the ballgame. Guard Olivia Olson gave the Buckeyes a “Groundhog Day”-esque nightmare as she continued to run to the baseline and attack the basket. Olson scored six of the Wolverines’ first 10 points of the quarter while the Buckeyes hot shooting cooled drastically. The Buckeyes went 4-for-10 to start the quarter and went 1-for-7 from three-point range.
During Michigan’s relentless move into the interior, Elsa Lemmilä picked up two fouls for the Buckeyes and went to the bench. Forward Kylee Kitts, who is still working up to starter minutes, came in and made a couple of plays on offense inside, but defensively struggled against the quicker and healthier Olson, who would likely give Kitts problems even if the Buckeye redshirt freshman was 100% healthy.
All of that inside play opened up the visitors from deep, and after Olson hit a shot from deep, guard Syla Swords hit two, which included the basket that gave the Wolverines their first lead in the second quarter. Up 39-37, Ohio State had the final shot, and Jaloni Cambridge hit a three-point shot to give the Buckeyes a one-point lead. That shot gave the point guard eight points in the half, even though the sophomore did have five assists and three rebounds.
Third quarter
Michigan picked up where it left off in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes did not do much to help. The Wolverines outscored the Buckeyes 11-3 to start the second half and the misses for Ohio State included high percentage shots inside the paint. The Buckeyes hit one of their first 11 attempted shots, including a run of nine missed shots in a row.
Since both teams thrive on making other teams turn the ball over, the press was more of a stalemate. Even so, the Buckeyes tried unsuccessfully to force bulk turnovers. Michigan outshot the Buckeyes 56.3% to 25% in the quarter and 22-13 in the period.
Fourth quarter
The Buckeyes entered the quarter down nine points and Michigan made sure it did not shrink too much. Guards Te’Ya Delfosse hit a wide open three-point shot. Then Delfosse took a shot, missed it and grabbed her own rebound without a single Buckeye attempt to jump and challenge for the ball. Delfosse found Swords in the corner to hit another shot from deep, her third of the game.
Michigan kept the lead at three possessions for most of the first four minutes of the quarter. The baskets made by the Wolverines after each Buckeye make killed any sort of momentum for the home side.
A bright spot for the Buckeyes came in an individual accolade achieved by Kennedy Cambridge in the fourth quarter. Ohio State began to get some turnovers going its way and the redshirt junior grabbed two early in the frame to hit 115 on the season. It tied Kennedy Cambridge with Yvette Angel’s 115 steals in the 1984-85 season.
Ohio State then found life thanks to sound half court defense, rebounding and consecutive baskets. Michigan missed four baskets in a row, which allowed a seven-point Ohio State run. In the process, the Buckeyes grabbed 10 rebounds to six from the Wolverines. The nine-point Wolverine lead went down to two. The momentum continued for Ohio State and with two minutes remaining, it was a tied game.
The sides traded a basket apiece and with 13.7 seconds left, Michigan called a timeout after the Buckeyes made the visitors use almost all of the 30-second shot clock. It ended with Jaloni Cambridge defending Olivia Olson in near the baseline when the ball went out of bounds. Head coach Kevin McGuff challenged the play unsuccessfully.
With the possession and 2.3 seconds on the shot clock, Swords hit her fourth three of the game, which gave the Wolverines a 74-71 lead. Ohio State had 10.9 seconds left to try and tie. Guard Chance Gray had the attempt, a wide open shot thanks to a screen from Lemmilä that took two players. Gray missed the look and a subsequent rebound missed.
All Michigan had to do was inbound the ball cleanly and run out the clock. Ohio State forced a loose ball which Jaloni Cambridge grabbed. As the sophomore ran to beyond the three-point line, Brooke Quarles Daniels fouled the guard, who hit all three free throws to tie the game. Michigan tried a heave with .6 seconds left, but it went out of bounds. Ohio State had possession and tried to get it to Lemmilä but Michigan put four people on the big to send the game to overtime.
Overtime
Ohio State controlled the overtime period at first. Lemmilä won the jump, hit a layup to start the scoring and it started a six-point run for the Buckeyes. McGuff’s side pushed the lead to six points but Olson hit a three to cut that in half. Guard Ava Watson responded to put the lead back at two possessions.
The Buckeyes carried all of the energy in the extra period and the crowd, which included people who probably ran back to their seats as they tried to leave at the Swords three in the fourth quarter, reacted to every made basket as if it was a highlight reel.
Michigan kept themselves in the game with the deep shot. Guard Macy Brown hit one to make it an 86-83 Buckeye lead. Then Brown hit a second, with it bouncing three times on the rim before going through the rim. It gave the Buckeyes the ball with 15.7 seconds left.
Olson did what she did all night and went to the basket. The sophomore hit a layup with 3.7 seconds left for Ohio State to inbound and try to get up a shot. Gray did get off a shot that hit from three, but it was too late and Michigan came away with the victory.
Key performers
Ohio State
- Jaloni Cambridge: 22 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds
- Kennedy Cambridge: 8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
- Elsa Lemmilä: 11 points, 15 rebounds
Michigan
- Olivia Olson: 31 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists
- Syla Swords: 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Up Next
Ohio State is on the road with one game left in the Big Ten regular season. This time, the Buckeyes face the other Michigan side when they head to East Lansing, Michigan, to face the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans have not beaten the Buckeyes since Jan. 16, 2020, in East Lansing.
Since then, Ohio State has a seven-game winning streak. Even so, Michigan State still has Big Ten Tournament seeding to play for, and a win against the Buckeyes would go a long way for the Green and White.
