Meet the multiple versions of Ohio State women’s star freshman Jaloni Cambridge

The first-year Buckeye spent each quarter introducing a different side of herself to the NCAA basketball world

On Tuesday, Ohio State women’s basketball started the season against mid-major Cleveland State. As the sound of the final buzzer stopped the 104-69 one-sided Buckeyes’ victory, freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge already finished a debut performance for the record books.

In 26 minutes, Cambridge scored 31 points and added 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. A historic program performance, as the first freshman in Ohio State history, to start their first college game and score over 30 points.

More than Kelsey Mitchell’s 26 points on Nov. 14, 2014, or a 10-point performance from Katie Smith, whose name hangs in the rafters of the Schottenstein Center.

According to OptaSTATS, nobody in the NBA, WNBA, or Division I men’s or women’s basketball has a better introduction than Cambridge in the last 25 years. Making it stand out even more was the efficiency. Cambridge went 12-for-14 from the floor, and 2-for-3 from deep.

So, a pretty good night for the freshman point guard.

Look deeper into the stats and Cambridge spent her 26 minutes on the court Tuesday showing fans all the versions of what made her the No. 1 point guard in the nation. Each quarter, Cambridge rolled out another facet of her game to expect.

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First Quarter

Cambridge got the Buckeyes’ scoring going 52 seconds into the game. After Cleveland State earned their lone lead of the game, starting the night with a three-point shot by Sara Guerriero, Cambridge moved Ohio State up the court.

The guard took a few steps into the arc and pulled up for a midrange jumper. A clean shot that didn’t touch the rim or hit the backboard to score Cambridge’s first college points.

A shot as smooth as Cambridge’s demeanor heading into what would be a historic performance.

“I didn’t really have any nerves,” said Cambridge. “I was just excited to be here, just blessed to be on a big environment, be here with amazing people.”

Cambridge added three more midrange jumpers in the first quarter, making all four in the first 10 minutes, plus her first assist on a three-point shot by forward Cotie McMahon. It was an offense started by Cambridge’s work on the defensive end of the court.

The point guard, now leading the Buckeyes’ full-court press with former Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon watching on, the person who was in Cambridge’s role the past five seasons, grabbed the steal on the eventual McMahon three-point shot.

It was the first of four for the freshman in the victory, something her teammate applauded after the win.

“I honestly think we were a fast team last year, but this team, I feel like we’re just very quick, very fast,” said McMahon. “So 22 [Cambridge] is going to be really good for us as far as what we have.”

Those steals weren’t all on individual effort, but part of a team excelling. A team that lived up to head coach Kevin McGuff’s comments all offseason about the talent of the new batch of Buckeyes.

For good measure, the 5-foor-7 guard also had a block in the quarter. Then, in the second quarter, Cambridge introduced another aspect of her game.

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Second Quarter

Seemingly bored with midrange shots, Cambridge took a few steps back in the second. In the first minute, the point guard hit two three-point shots. On the second, it came off another Ohio State forced turnover.

“I was feeling good. I just got to my spots,” said Cambridge. “My teammates allowed me to get to my right spots and just had the confidence in me to just make those shots.”

Cambridge did miss a third attempt in the quarter, dropping her shooting to a paltry 6-for-7, but added another steal and block, and the Buckeyes took a 42-24 lead into the halftime locker room. The point guard led all scorers with 14 points.

Defensively, the point guard matchup between Cambridge and reigning Horizon League Player of the Year Colbi Maples ended with Maples scoring three points on 1-for-5 shooting in the half.

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Third Quarter

If the first half was there to highlight sharpshooting, the second half showed how Cambridge can turn on the jets.

Ohio State had its best scoring quarter of the night in the third, tacking on 33 points, 12 of which came from Cambridge.

The freshman spent the quarter showing what Cambridge can do when she attacks the paint. On one drive, Cambridge grabbed a rebound on the defensive end of the court and took it straight to the basket. Well, not exactly straight at it because in the process Cambridge went around three Cleveland State defenders before hitting the layup and a trip to the free throw line.

Cambridge had four free throws in the third quarter because each time she went up to score it was going right at the face of the opponent.

The guard missed her second shot of the day in the third, but ultimately that doesn’t matter in what was an all-around performance from the new Buckeye guard.

“She obviously displayed how talented she is. Probably more importantly, the poise that she plays with, the maturity she has,” said McGuff. “And to see her have the game that she has from a points perspective, but as importantly, make everybody around her better. Play both ends of the floor, really impressive debut for her.”

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Fourth Quarter

Cambridge added five more points in the fourth, but had her best assist quarter of the night, playing half the quarter.

The guard had three of her six assists in her final five minutes. Finding fellow new Buckeye guard Chance Gray. Cambridge found Gray for two three-point shots, the first of the night for the junior shooting guard out of Cincinnati, Ohio.

It gave the Buckeyes a performance where all 10 players at least hit a basket in the victory. Cambridge’s night was talked about throughout the NCAA basketball world, for good reason, which isn’t a concern for McGuff.

“One of the great things about where our sport is right now is there’s an incredible amount of coverage from the media in all forms, which is awesome,” said McGuff. “And so I think she’s obviously gonna get a lot of attention. And the thing I love about it is she wants to be here, she wants to play, she likes her teammates and she wants to win. And I don’t think it will affect her in a way that it might affect some other people.”

Tuesday was one game out of 29 games for the Buckeyes this regular season. A season that includes games against the likes of USC, Stanford and Maryland. How will Cambridge perform when the opponents’ difficulty level increases?

Cambridge’s debut performance will be hard to replicate day in and day out. Play with those stats each night and Cambridge would end her NCAA career as by far the best player in the sport’s history, which is unrealistic to expect.

Even so, now fans know the capabilities of an outstanding freshman. A game that gets fans excited and opponents equally excited but at the chance of stopping it from happening to them.