The Ohio State women’s basketball team was back in action Wednesday night, taking down the Kent State Golden Flashes 88-68 at the Schottenstein Center.
The Buckeyes (3-1) dropped their first game of the season on Sunday to No. 1 UConn 100-68, but bounced back against the now 3-3 Flashes. Ohio State is now 3-0 at home.
It was a team effort early on for the Buckeyes, as all five Ohio State starters scored in the first four minutes of the game.
The Buckeyes led 18-12 after the first quarter behind seven
points from senior guard T’yana Todd. She added two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes. Jaloni Cambridge had four points and a rebound in the opening quarter.
Kent State guard Mya Babbit had eight of the Flashes’ 12 points in the opening quarter, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point range.
Tatian Thomas recorded four rebounds in the first quarter, and Dionna Gray had two assists.
The Buckeyes struggled shooting to open up the game, starting just 8-for-21 from the field and 2-for-9 from three-point range, but the suffocating Kevin McGuff defense forced eight early turnovers to keep the Flashes off the scoreboard. Kent State also outrebounded the Buckeyes early in the first half, 12 to 8.
Junior Kent State forward Janae Tyler scored back-to-back buckets for Kent State to cut the Buckeye lead to 22-19 with just over six minutes left in the half.
Cambridge made a layup to make the score 26-21 Buckeyes at the under-five media timeout. At that point, the Buckeyes were just 11-for-28 from the field while the Flashes were 9-for-19 from the field.
Two free throws from Janae Tyler cut the Buckeye lead to just one at 28-27, and a three-pointer from Babbit gave the Flashes the lead at 30-28. Cambridge then answered with a tip-in to tie the game, and Todd knocked down a three-pointer to take a 33-30 lead.
The two teams traded threes from Babbit and Ella Hobb,s and after two more free throws from Babbit, the Buckeyes took a slim 36-35 lead into the half. T’yana Todd led the Buckeyes with ten points, while Cambridge had seven points and four rebounds.
Babbit finished the first half with a game-high 18 points. She averaged 13.8 per game coming into the contest. Janae Tyler added 10 points as the duo had 28 of the Flashes’ 35 points.
The Flashes outrebounded the Buckeyes 17-14 in the first half. Kent State shot 13-for-23 from the field while the Buckeyes shot just 14-for-37 from the field and 4-for-17 from three-point range. The Flashes had ten turnovers while the Buckeyes only had three.
The Buckeyes came out of the half hot, going on a 13-4 run to push the lead out to 49-39 with six minutes left in the third quarter. Chance Gray recorded seven of the Buckeyes’ 13 points during the run, while Kylee Kitts added three points.
Two free throws from Kennedy Cambridge gave the Buckeyes their largest lead of the day at 51-39. Babbit knocked down another three-pointer to make the score 53-46 and to give her 25 points with five three-pointers.
The Buckeyes closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 64-48 lead into the final ten minutes.
Jaloni Cambridge made two free throws with six minutes left in the game to push the Buckeye lead to 20 at 73-53. Back-to-back three-pointers from Todd and Bryn Martin pushed the lead to 79-60, and eventually, the Buckeyes took an 84-61 lead into the final media timeout.
The Buckeyes ended with an 88-68 win over the Flashes after outscoring them 52-33 in the second half.
Babbit led the way for the Flashes with 30 points on 9-for-13 from the field and 6-for-9 from three-point range. She added five rebounds. Janae Tyler finished with 13 points and four rebounds.
Jaloni Cambridge led the Buckeyes with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Chance Gray finished with 18 points, and T’yana Todd added 15.
What’s Next
Next on the schedule is a trip to the Bahamas for Ohio State. The 3-1 Buckeyes are participating in the 2025 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship. The Buckeyes are one of eight teams that will play at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts and Entertainment Center.
Teams will play in a pair of four-team divisions with games taking place on Monday, Nov. 24, and Wednesday, Nov. 26. Other teams competing include Alabama, Belmont, Harvard, Minnesota, South Florida, McNeese State, and West Virginia.
The Buckeyes are in the Goombay Division, along with Belmont, McNeese State, and West Virginia, and will play the winner/loser of West Virginia and McNeese State after they take on Belmont.
