This year, the Buckeyes eat their turkey in Daytona, Florida.
Last year, Ohio State women’s basketball played a game in the Bahamas the day before Thanksgiving. It was part of the Baha Mar in-season tournament. This year, the destination and tournament name are different but the idea remains the same.
The Buckeyes take part in two games in two days, this time in Dayton Beach, Florida at the Daytona Beach Classic. This time playing on Thanksgiving day itself against Old Dominion of the Sun Belt Conference.
Preview
Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side has adjusted well to the absence of forward Cotie McMahon. Out with a lower leg injury, the Scarlet and Gray are 2-0 since McMahon went out, winning by 64 and 43 points against the Ohio Bobcats and Bowling Green Falcons, respectively.
That margin might’ve been more with the star junior in the lineup, but with her absence, the remaining Buckeyes have a chance to grow in her absence-induced adversity.
Kennedy Cambridge slid into the starting lineup, with Taylor Thierry moving from a guard role to forward. After Cambridge fouled out against Ohio, the guard had a career-high 10 points against the Falcons and added 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block.
The guard also didn’t have a single turnover in 28 minutes played, showing settled nerves after giving away three against the Bobcats four days prior.
Cambridge is starting alongside her freshman sister Jaloni Cambridge. In five games, the No. 2 overall recruit of the 2024 class sits second on the team in scoring (17.0) and first in assists (4.8) and steals (2.6) per game.
In the first and only Thursday game of the tournament, the Buckeyes face the Old Dominion Monarchs. After falling in their first game of the year, against future Ohio State opponent Ball State, Old Dominion is on a five-game winning streak.
Leading the Monarchs is senior En’Dya Buford, playing her second season with the Virginia side after two seasons playing for the Memphis Tigers. Buford leads the team with 10.8 points and 4.3 assists per game.
The Monarchs will play off screens, trying to slip Ohio State assignments and find mismatches, Those turn into chances at the basket or midrange efforts. From deep, Old Dominion attempts less than five shots per game, benefiting the Buckeyes’ half-court defense who are prone to the open three-point attempt.
Defensively. the Monarchs play man-to-man, applying pressure in the half-court to make movement and passing more difficult for opponents. It’s been efficient so far, sitting second in the conference in defensive rating, although none of the Monarchs’ opponents have been a Power Four school like Ohio State.
Ohio State has its advantages, but watch turnovers forced. OSU averages 17.7 turnovers per game and now faces a Buckeyes team that averages 14.8 steals per game. However, ODU is improving in that department, not giving away more than 13 turnovers in their last three games.
Part of Old Dominion’s winning streak is victories against two in-state opponents heading into their trip to Daytona Beach. NOn ov. 21, it took overtime to stop a VCU Rams comeback attempt, beating their rivals 53-51 in overtime. A week later, the Monarchs welcomed William & Mary to Norfolk, defeating them 63-39.
Projected Starters
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Kennedy Cambridge
F- Taylor Thierry
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- Taylor Thierry is now six points away from 1,000 career NCAA points, all with Ohio State
- Chance Gray is second in the Big Ten with three-point shots made, hitting 20. Gray is behind Moriah Murray of Penn State (35)
- Kennedy Cambridge’s 10 points against Bowling Green is a career-high for the redshirt sophomore
Old Dominion
G- En’Dya Buford
G- Simaru Fields
G- Kelsey Thompson
F- Brenda Fontana
C- Mikayla Brown
Lineup Notes
- Head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones has played around with her starting lineup, using five different groups in six games, but has used this lineup for the past two games, both victories for Old Dominion
- En’Dya Buford is having a career year passing with 4.3 assists per game
- Junior Kelsey Thompson won 22-23 Sun Belt Rookie of the Year with South Alabama. Thompson stayed in-conference, transferring to ODU in the offseason
Prediction
Ohio State will persevere against early pressure from the Monarchs and pull away, like most of the non-conference games so far this season for the Scarlet and Gray.
Gray will lead the Buckeyes in scoring from deep, taking advantage of ODU’s focus on stopping Ajae Petty and Elsa Lemmilä in the paint, and Cambridge from attacking the basket.
How to Watch
Date: Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024
Time: 11 a.m. ET
Where: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
Stream: BallerTV
LGHL Score Prediction: 92-60, Ohio State Buckeyes
Death by Streaming
With the onslaught of in-season tournaments, streaming gets difficult when each tournament goes with different outlets like FloSports, and this year it’s BallerTV.
This service airing the game is usually reserved for AAU and youth sports. However, there’s an event pass for the series, costing $20, which is the least expensive package to watch the two Ohio State games, plus every other game of the Daytona Beach Classic.
Here’s the link for the page offering the package. Should you try to go to BallerTV and sign up from the main page, it’ll cost $44.95 before tax.