New names, new style and more in a new season of Buckeyes women’s basketball.
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is here to get you ready. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the long summer without college basketball comes to an end. At the Jerome Schottenstein Center, Ohio State women’s basketball starts a 29-game regular season campaign against in-state mid-major Cleveland State. For the first time in a few years, questions linger around the program.
Who’s starting? Who’s stepping up? Will Ohio State stay in the conversation in the Big Ten and NCAA field at-large?
Here are five storylines to watch throughout the next five months.
The Learning Curve
The most obvious difference for folks who haven’t watched the news this offseason is who’s on the court. Ohio State returns only four names from last season’s roster who played at least 10 minutes a game.
Of the usual starting lineup for head coach Kevin McGuff, three are gone. Guards Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor left for the WNBA and forward Rebeka Mikulasikova returned to Europe for pro basketball.
Fortunately for Ohio State fans, the two starters who are back are some of the best at what they do in the conference. Forward Cotie McMahon and guard/forward Taylor Thierry are starting every game for the Scarlet and Gray this season, barring injury.
That’s an AP All-American Honorable Mention in McMahon and the nation’s No. 1 Offensive Rating with Thierry.
Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images
For how good the two returners are, McGuff can’t rely on a veteran side full of program staples. However, there’s a lot of new skill coming in.
Both likely backcourt starters are new in junior transfer Chance Gray, out of the Oregon Ducks program and Cincinnati, Ohio in high school. Then there’s No. 1 point guard prospect Jaloni Cambridge penciled in as the starting point guard. In the paint, Ajae Petty joined the Buckeyes out of the SEC for four seasons.
Patience will be required this season more than previous years. There will be turnovers, missed assignments and errant passes, which should lessen as the season goes on and the team grows comfortable in real game situations.
Rebounding
Every team needs rebounding, but some need it more than others. Ohio State is that some.
The Buckeyes were last in the Big Ten on the boards during the 2023-24 season, averaging 33.5 rebounds per game. That’s missed second chances on offenses and more work needed to stop opponent’s second chances on defense.
For years now, the sheer number of turnovers created by the McGuff havoc-inducing press did its best to mask the problem, but in the games where Ohio State lost it was probably due in part to lack of production on the boards.
Petty’s arrival from Kentucky is a one-year fix for the Buckeyes’ presence in the paint. The former LSU Tiger and Kentucky Wildcat started her NCAA career slow but as a senior in Kentucky, Petty started every game and averaged 10.6 rebounds and 14.2 points.
Only three other players in the SEC averaged a double-double alongside Petty, including now WNBA star Angel Reese.
Add Petty to interior presences like McMahon and Thierry and rebounding doesn’t look like as big of a problem. There’s also 6-foot-6 freshman center Elsa Lemmila, from Finland, adding another dimension.
Should Petty or Lemmila reach the double-digit rebounding mark, it’ll be the first time Ohio State’s had someone grab at least 10 a game since the 20-21 season when Dorka Juhasz had 11.1 per game in her final season before transferring to UConn.
Jaloni Cambridge
If you’ve been living under a rock, it’s time to crawl out and learn about Jaloni Cambridge.
A player former Buckeyes assistant coach Wesley Brooks called the fastest player in women’s basketball wears scarlet and gray. Cambridge is likely to step into the starting role as a freshman and hold onto it until her final NCAA game.
The No. 2 overall 2024 recruit adds pace to the offensive transition and McGuff press, but it’s not all about speed. Cambridge sees plays develop, and already has the trust of new teammates like Petty who’s in her fifth college season.
Teammates Madison Greene and McMahon already compare the freshman to the former face of the program Sheldon. That’s before the freshman steps onto the court for a competitive game.
That doesn’t mean Cambridge too won’t require some patience from fans. After all, its a jump going from the high school ranks to college. The game speeds up and the competition is better.
Ohio State has a lighter non-conference schedule with all the new names on the roster, which makes sense. Look closer and the mid-majors that will come to Columbus throughout the end of the 2024 calendar are sides that are ranked near the top of their conferences. So, expect there to be trap games galore, but manageable enough competition to prepare Cambridge for the Big Ten gauntlet that starts at the end of December.
Cotie McMahon’s Ascension
While Cambridge is the new and exciting name, Ohio State has plenty of excitement in McMahon.
For two seasons, the Centerville, Ohioan has spun her way into Ohio State fans’ hearts. McMahon’s also put herself into the national spotlight with her moves to the basket, next level energy and Grinch-themed shoes.
Now even UConn head coach Geno Auriemma knows McMahon and last year showed signs that the ceiling isn’t in sight.
In the second half of the season, McMahon had five double-doubles, and came close to her first triple-double. It shows that McMahon isn’t only a player who moves in the paint and hits layups. McMahon is a well-rounded star who has a group around her that she trusts. With that trust, there’s more room for McMahon to work.
This offseason, McMahon strengthened what already made her stand out by taking part in Team USA youth 3×3 play. At the WNBA All-Star weekend, McMahon wasn’t phased by the bright lights. Instead, McMahon took on the Team USA 3×3 Paris Olympic team and set the pace of the game early.
Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
3×3 requires speed, one-on-one defense and shooting range. The by-product of that play is an improved McMahon at Ohio State.
That’s a scary prospect for opponents of the Buckeyes and it could propel McMahon into the national conversation alongside the likes of JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers.
Bigger Big Ten
Whether you want it or not, the Big Ten is four teams bigger. With the traditional Pac-12 going away, the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies are now on the Buckeyes’ conference schedule.
The three-team battle at the top of the conference over the past few years between Ohio State, Indiana and Iowa now includes a National Player of the Year candidate JuJu Watkins and the Trojans or Lauren Betts and the Bruins. Plus, an Oregon team that’s struggled over the past few seasons but has retooled in the offseason.
NCAA fans already see the impact on the football side of college athletics. Teams are traveling more, legs are tired and programs are adjusting to the new normal of the conference.
How teams adjust to this bigger Big Ten could help decide a conference champion. For Ohio State, it means a trip to California in February with a pair of games against the Los Angeles sides in three days, while Oregon and Washington head to the Schottenstein Center.
That’s on top of already difficult away trips to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers, Nebraska to face the Cornhuskers and heading to Maryland on the last day of the regular season to face Brenda Frese and the Terrapins.