The Buckeyes welcome the Huskies for a final home game before a tough trip to Los Angeles.
The bye week is over for No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball. Following a road win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers Jan. 26, the 19-1 (8-1) Buckeyes had lighter practice and two days off before getting back into game prep mode Friday.
Next up for the Scarlet and Gray is the first of three straight former Pac-12 teams, starting at home against the Washington Huskies (13-8, 4-5). It’s a matchup that will give Ohio State different looks on the court, from a side that’s in the middle of the Big Ten pack, but has the ability to hurt the Buckeyes with a lineup that’s ever-changing.
For Buckeye fans, it’s also the last time to see Ohio State at home until Feb. 13, with a trip to California for games against two top-five teams in the country following Sunday’s game. A cross-country trip that adds intrigue and the potential for the Buckeyes to look past a tough Huskies team.
Preview
On the women’s basketball side of the Big Ten, the big programs joining the league were the No. 1 UCLA Bruins and No. 4 USC Trojans. Featuring UCLA center Lauren Betts and USC guard JuJu Watkins, the two Los Angeles-based teams grabbed hold of the narrative entering the season, and the top two spots in the preseason rankings, but the other two teams are no slouches. Ohio State knows this well.
The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies are both in spots to play in the 15-team Big Ten Tournament, knocking out two legacy Big Ten sides in the process. Ohio State has experience against Oregon this season, needing a 27-point run in the second quarter to defeat the Ducks 69-60 on Jan. 12, and now it’s time to take on the Huskies.
This season, Washington started off strong, winning 12 of their first 16 games, and even the losses looked good with the Huskies falling to the then No. 7 ranked LSU Tigers 68-67 in November.
However, since the conference schedule started, Washington has struggled. The Huskies lost four of their last five games, and go on their third east coast road trip, starting in Columbus. In the first, the Huskies swept the two Illinois-based B1G teams, but in January fell to the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines by double-digits.
Now, the Huskies have nine games to hold onto a spot in the conference tournament, currently sitting in 12th place.
On Sunday, Ohio State and Washington will battle from beyond the arc. It’s a matchup of one of the best three-point defending teams against the most efficient three-point shooting side.
The Huskies sit No. 1 overall from deep, hitting 36.3 percent of their three-point attempts. Leading the way are Washington’s two leading scorers in the backcourt with guards Sayvia Sellers and Elle Ladine.
Sellers, no relation to Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers, leads the Huskies with 16.3 points per game. The Alaska-native is second in the Big Ten in deep shooting efficiency, hitting 44.1 percent of her 4.9 attempts from beyond the arc per game.
Despite only playing two more minutes per game as a sophomore, Sellers nearly doubled her freshman scoring that earned her a spot on the 23-24 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. The point guard also leads the Huskies in assists with 3.7 per game.
Alongside Sellers in the backcourt is Elle Ladine. The junior guard is right behind Sellers in the scoring department, averaging 16.1 points per game and also averaging 2.1 makes from deep per game. While the guard isn’t as efficient as Sellers, Ladine and Sellers make for a duo that the Buckeyes need to watch, especially when the Huskies try to break the defensive press.
Watch Ohio State and they do allow shots from deep, especially when teams pass quickly to a mismatch in the press, but when in the half court, three-point shots aren’t easy to come by for opponents. The Buckeyes play one-on-one defense well, holding opponents to 27.6 percent from deep, the third best in the conference and 51st in the nation.
The trick for head coach Kevin McGuff’s side is getting those turnovers. The Huskies allow 14.9 turnovers per game, which is in the top half of the Big Ten for the fewest given up. What will make it difficult are the personnel looks used by head coach Tina Langley.
Washington uses a familiar setup of three guards and two bigs in the post, but will also employ a five-guard set. That extra speed could be enough to limit turnovers. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, there’s experience playing in a smaller group where guard/forward Taylor Thierry slides into the de facto No. 5 role.
If the Huskies try to outsize the Buckeyes, Ohio State has an answer for that too with forward Ajae Petty and center Elsa Lemmilä. The freshman Lemmilä has come on strong of late, playing 45 minutes in the last two games, with a combined 14 rebounds and six blocks.
A duo to watch within the Buckeyes’ roster are the Cambridge sisters, for different reasons. Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Cambridge is coming in like Lemmilä of late, playing more minutes off the bench and making an impact. In the last two games, Kennedy Cambridge has 20 points and six steals in 45 combined minutes.
For freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge, it’s bouncing back from tough outing against Nebraska. Jaloni Cambridge scored no points in the road win, the second consecutive game where an Ohio State starter went scoreless with Chance Gray doing the same in a win against then No. 8 Maryland.
Jaloni Cambridge isn’t likely to stay down for long. The two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week has led the Buckeyes offense with 21.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in the five games prior to her zero-point effort against the Cornhuskers. Also, the one loss on the Ohio State schedule came when Jaloni Cambridge wasn’t available, due to illness.
Projected Starters
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- Following Chance Gray’s zero points against Maryland, the former Oregon guard had seven points and three rebounds against Nebraska.
- Taylor Thierry’s 5-of-7 shooting from deep against the Cornhuskers is the most made three-point shots in the senior’s NCAA career.
- Cotie McMahon’s 16.4 points per game puts her ninth in the Big Ten, the first time in the junior’s time at Ohio State.
Washington
G- Sayvia Sellers
G- Elle Ladine
G- Hannah Stines
F- Dalayah Daniels
C- Tayre Eke
Lineup Notes
- Washington started the same starting five for every game until their Jan. 27 loss to Indiana.
- Center Tayre Eke moved to the bench against the Hoosiers, but the 6-foot-3 center will pressure the Buckeyes in the post.
- Washington’s Devin Coppinger is the only freshman to log minutes this season for the Huskies.
Prediction
There will be some rust expected with Ohio State’s first game in a week, but it will be matched by the same for Washington who travel from Seattle for the game. The Buckeyes will get going in the second quarter and shoot efficiently through the end of the game, after working on their finishing this week before prepping for the Huskies.
Washington will adjust their lineups, but the rotation of the Buckeyes this season will benefit the home side who will pick up their 20th win of the season.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: FOX Sports App
LGHL Score Prediction: 74-62, Ohio State Buckeyes
Sheldon On the Move
Ohio State welcomes back former Buckeye stars on Sunday for Alumnae Night. Of the group, head of player development Jacy Sheldon is likely to be honored, just a day after the second-year WNBA guard was traded out of Dallas.
The Connecticut Sun traded for Sheldon and the eighth pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft for Dijonai Carrington and the 12th pick in this year’s draft. After playing for the same college team for five seasons, Sheldon now has her second team in two seasons if she suits up for the Sun when the season starts this spring.