No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball completed its second comeback victory over a top-10 opponent in two weeks, defeating No. 9 TCU 71-69 at the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark, New Jersey, on Jan. 19.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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Chance Gray steps up with Jaloni Cambridge’s offensive production limited
Going into the game, the Buckeyes had been relying heavily on point guard Jaloni Cambridge. In Ohio State’s six-game winning streak, Cambridge was averaging 26.8 points.
Cambridge finished with 18 points against TCU, which was the second-highest total for the Buckeyes, but made an impact only during the fourth quarter, in which she scored 10 of those points.
More: OSU women’s basketball pull off another upset. This time over TCU
With Cambridge’s production limited for the majority of the game, guard Chance Gray stepped up, scoring 22 points and going 6 for 8 on 3-point shots.
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Gray has made steady offensive progress this season, improving her 3-point shooting average from 28.1% to 34.6% since Dec. 28.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 19: Chance Gray #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates a basket against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs during the second half of the Coretta Scott King Classic at Prudential Center on January 19, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)
Forward Elsa Lemmila also contributed to Ohio State’s comeback in the second and third quarters and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Jaloni Cambridge’s career-high assists indicate improvement at point guard
Cambridge made up for her lack of scoring by being the Buckeyes’ top facilitator against TCU, recording a career-high eight assists. Her final assist was to Gray with 16 seconds remaining, with Gray hitting a 3-pointer that helped solidify the win.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 19: Jaloni Cambridge #22 of the Ohio State Buckeyes dribbles the ball against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs during the second half of the Coretta Scott King Classic at Prudential Center on January 19, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)
Before starting her sophomore season, Cambridge expressed that she would be “slowing down” her pace when in control of the ball so she could better see the floor.
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More: Why Ohio State women’s basketball point guard Jaloni Cambridge is ‘slowing down’
Cambridge immediately began seeing the advantages of her new approach, nearly matching her 2024-25 season high in assists with six during the season opener against Coppin State.
After 19 games, Cambridge is ranked eighth in the Big Ten for assists, averaging 4.5.
Ohio State lacks contributions from bench vs TCU
The production from Cambridge, Gray and Lemmila made up 80.3% of Ohio State’s scoring, with the rest of the team recording only 14 points.
None of those points came from the four Buckeyes who came off the bench.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 19: T’yana Todd #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes shoots the ball as Marta Suárez #7 of the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs defends during the first half of the Coretta Scott King Classic at Prudential Center on January 19, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)
Through eight Big Ten games, the Buckeyes’ bench has averaged just 11.6 points, with their highest points in Big Ten games being 22 against Purdue on Dec. 31.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 takes from No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball defeating No. 9 TCU
