No. 9 Ohio State women’s basketball (21-3) opened its two-game West Coast road trip with a 70-60 victory over No. 24 Washington (17-6) on Feb. 5.
The win was the Buckeyes’ first on the road against any of the four West Coast teams that joined the Big Ten last season.
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Ohio State outshot Washington 48.4% to 40% from the field, but the Huskies managed to hang in the game until the final two minutes.
More: OSU women’s basketball earns first AP poll top-10 ranking this season
“We had a stretch there where we were getting out in transition, and we were getting good shots,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “That’s what allowed us to get the lead. And then we had some open shots at the end that we didn’t make that I think would have put it away. But to Washington’s credit, they kept fighting.”
While Ohio State took a 14-point advantage during the third quarter, guard Sayvia Sellers led the Huskies on an 11-2 run in the fourth to pull within four points.
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The Buckeyes had a slight 64-60 edge with 2:09 remaining when point guard Jaloni Cambridge hit a long jumper from the top of the key to put the game away. Washington failed to score again after that.
“In her young career, she’s been in such big moments already,” McGuff said. “We put the ball in her hands in some crucial moments last year and this year. So, she’s just growing up before our eyes, and I can’t think of anybody else we want to be directing the team at that moment.”
Ohio State point guard Jaloni Cambridge had seven rebounds to go with her team-leading 26 points in a 70-60 win over Washington.
Cambridge, who has been the Buckeyes’ leading scorer in all but one Big Ten matchup, finished with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds.
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“Every time I step onto the court, it’s not just me and having confidence in myself, but it’s my teammates around me,” Cambridge said. “I think they trust me, and my coaches trust me to do things I need to do, to help this team.”
The sophomore accounted for eight points in the first quarter, despite playing just six minutes. For the third consecutive game, Cambridge committed two fouls within the first 15 minutes, but avoided fouling out.
Even without Cambridge, Ohio State pulled ahead by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, capitalizing on Washington’s 29.4% shooting.
A sloppy second quarter, in which the Buckeyes recorded more turnovers (five) than made baskets (four), allowed Washington to pull within four points while still shooting less than 34%.
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“We were a little bit impatient,” McGuff said. “We wouldn’t work to get deeper into the shot clock to get a better shot than we were taking.”
Ohio State quickly matched its second-quarter point total of nine before the halfway mark of the third quarter.
Ohio State center Elsa Lemmila had five blocks in a win over Washington.
Center Elsa Lemmila provided the Buckeyes with a key offensive boost, scoring 13 points, and also contributed on the defensive end with five blocks. Lemmila leads the Big Ten in blocks, averaging 2.4 per game.
Ohio State’s frontcourt is still without starter Kylee Kitts, who suffered a shoulder injury against TCU on Jan. 19. Kitts made the trip to the West Coast and could be an option for the upcoming game against Oregon, according to McGuff.
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The Buckeyes will head south to Oregon for their final game of the road trip against the Ducks on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women defeat Washington in West Coast Big Ten action
