Last season, No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball neutralized No. 24 Washington Husky guards Elle Ladine and Sayvia Sellers in Columbus when the pair scored nine combined points. This time, the Buckeyes were in Seattle, Washington, a couple thousand miles from home, to try and continue a two-game winning streak with Big Ten Tournament seeding implications. A 24-point, seven-rebound, performance from Jaloni Cambridge lifted the Buckeyes over the Huskies 70-60 to start the two-game West Coast road trip.
First quarter
Before the game, Ohio State had good news with forward Kylee Kitts, who missed the previous four games. The redshirt freshman’s status on the Big Ten availability report improved from out to questionable for the matchup against Washington. However, it was short lived and the Buckeyes shut the forward down before the game.
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The Buckeyes did not need the extra offense from Kitts in the first quarter, because Ohio State came into the game with no apparent jet lag. Ohio State outshot Washington 58.8% OSU to 29.4%, and even better from beyond the arc. Both sides only made two in the opening quarter, but the Buckeyes took only three deep shots over seven from the Huskies.
Ohio State’s lone hiccup came from point guard Jaloni Cambridge who again picked up two fouls in the first quarter. It is the third game in a row for Cambridge where she picked up two fouls in the first period of a game.
Second quarter
Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side took an eight-point lead into the second quarter after the Huskies scored five in the final 37 seconds of the first quarter. Ohio State scored three but went cold with six misses in a row and the Huskies pounced with a nine-point run.
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Washington got to within three points before Ohio State began hitting shots again with a 3-for-5 ending to the quarter for the visiting Buckeyes. The last moments of the half represented the defensive focus of the game to that point. Center Elsa Lemmilä had four first half blocks and had one that put Ohio State on the fast break. Washington guard Sayvia Sellers stole the ball from guard Ava Watson in the paint and it suddenly turned into a Huskies fast break, and the fun was not over. Ohio State guard Kennedy Cambridge then grabbed the ball from behind to keep both sides off the board in the closing moments.
The woken up offense and late defense gave the Buckeyes a 31-27 lead heading into the locker room. Jaloni Cambridge responded from the two early fouls to lead the Buckeyes with 12 points in the first half. Sellers matched the Buckeye guard in points but fellow starting guard Elle Ladine had no points on four attempts.
Third quarter
Jaloni Cambridge came into the second half like she has since the calendar flipped to 2026. The guard made a similar move to her older sister against the Nebraska Cornhuskers when the junior leapt out of bounds to save possession. This time, Jaloni Cambridge did it on defense when the Huskies tried to find guard Avery Howell inside the paint when the Buckeye sophomore dived out of bounds and before she hit the ground she got the ball back in play for an Ohio State possession.
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Halfway through the third quarter, Jaloni Cambridge already added six more points to her total and the Ohio State defense gave the Buckeye offense a boost. After five minutes, the Scarlet and Gray outshot the Huskies 12-7, meaning that Washington had trouble cutting the deficit.
When Sellers hit a three to slow down the Ohio State offense, the Buckeyes responded with a three from Kennedy Cambridge, showing what kind of night the Buckeyes had to that point.
Cambridge picked up her third foul with 2:15 remaining and with Ohio State up 14 points, McGuff put the point guard on the bench. With less than a minute left, Kennedy Cambridge picked up her third foul too and sat for the remainder of the quarter. Even with the sisters out, the Buckeyes maintained their lead and entered the final quarter up 54-43.
Fourth quarter
Sellers started the fourth quarter on the bench but it did not last long. Washington began their comeback attempt but Ohio State’s defense started strong. The Huskies made two of their first three shots but not without resistance and getting late into the shot clock. Then, when Ohio State got the ball back the visitors hit their shots to maintain the double-digit lead.
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With 8:11 left, Sellers went to the basket and Kennedy Cambridge, despite the foul trouble, went up, blocked the layup and the ball went off Sellers before going out of bounds for an Ohio State possession.
Ohio State’s shots stopped falling and three misses in a row gave Washington an eight-point run. Buckeye senior guard Chance Gray hit a layup to stop it but Sellers hit a three-point shot to make it a six-point game with 3:20 remaining in the final quarter.
Jaloni Cambridge hit a deep two with 1:38 to play, soon after the sophomore picked up her fourth foul of the game. Sellers had the chance to get the game close again with a three and layup but missed both late. Lemmilä ran the court and received a pass from Jaloni Cambridge on the fast break on Sellers’ second miss in the late moments of the game to ice the game for the Buckeyes.
The victory gave McGuff his 500th career victory and against his former employer.
Number of the game: 18
Ohio State is known for forcing turnovers but Washington entered Thursday with the discipline to not put itself into positions to turn it over. The Huskies gave the ball away 18 times against the Buckeyes and it earned Ohio State 22 points off of those turnovers.
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Against power conference schools this season, Washington was 1-3 when the team gave the ball away at least 15 times in a game and the turnovers were the difference for Ohio State.
Key performers
Ohio State
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Jaloni Cambridge: 24 points, 7 rebounds
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Elsa Lemmilä: 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks
Washington
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Sayvia Sellers: 26 points
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Brynn McGaughy: 12 points
Up Next
The Buckeyes head down the coast for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Oregon Ducks. It is the first time Ohio State guard Chance Gray will play against her former team, in Eugene. Last season, in Columbus, Gray shot 2-for-10 with six points in the 69-60 Buckeye victory over the Ducks.
Before that, the Scarlet and Gray played Oregon at the 2022 San Diego Invitational where former Ohio State shooting guard Taylor Mikesell played her former Oregon team in an 84-67 Buckeye victory. Ohio State has not lost against the Ducks in the last four matchups between the programs. Prior to 2022 though, the two sides had not played since 2004 and before that it was a 1987 NCAA Tournament matchup.
