Every available Buckeye got in on the scoring during the team’s trip to Athens on Wednesday night.
Ohio State women’s basketball returned to the court on Wednesday and quickly put their close win over Belmont on Sunday in the rearview mirror, handily defeating the MAC’s Ohio Bobcats 106-42 Wednesday night.
Despite the ultimate result, the trip to Athens didn’t start off in Ohio State’s favor. Three hours before tip, OSU head coach Kevin McGuff revealed that the team’s leader, forward Cotie McMahon, would be unavailable for the in-state matchup. McMahon was on the sidelines wearing a boot on her right leg up to her knee. As of the end of the game, there has been no official word from the program as to the nature or severity of the injury.
Ohio University had its share of injuries too, their 2023-24 season leading scorer Jayla McClure hasn’t played yet this season due to injury. Making matters worse, the Bobcats’ leading scorer for this year, Kennedi Watkins, missed her second game in a row due to injury.
Injuries looked more evident for the Bobcats than the Buckeyes, however, and even without McMahon, Ohio State didn’t slow down. Kennedy Cambridge made her first start as a Buckeye, and guard/forward Taylor Thierry moved from the frontcourt into a traditional forward role.
McGuff’s side started quickly, hitting their first six shots, starting the night on a 15-0 run. Ohio went down as many as 18 points in the first quarter but connected on their last three shots of the quarter to go into the second period down 15 points.
In the second quarter, Ohio State’s defense elevated and looked more like the side that started the game holding the Bobcats to 0-for-7 shooting in the first five minutes. Ohio State allowed only nine shots in the second quarter and forced 15 turnovers.
Overall in the first half, the Buckeyes scored 34 points off of 26 turnovers, and point guard Jaloni Cambridge led the way with 19 points and four steals — equalling the Bobcats’ total points in the first 20 minutes. Thierry went 3-of-3 from deep to add nine points and freshman center Elsa Lemmilä scored nine points of her own adding five rebounds off the bench.
The Scarlet and Gray took a 40-point lead — 59-19 — into the locker room.
McGuff started the second half with his starting five back on the court and watched the lead increase. Ohio had no answers as OSU outperformed them in almost every statistical category.
Ohio State’s lead gave McGuff’s bench of nine available players ample time to see what they could, as well as get vital court time together outside of practice. All available Buckeyes played at least 10 minutes and everyone got on the scoresheet.
Benefiting the most was Lemmilä. So far in her freshman season, offensive chances came with rushed attempts or putting too much on shots. With the game out of reach, the game looked slower to Lemmilä who had her first career double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Defensively, the Finnish center had five blocks.
Thierry joined Lemmilä with a double-double of her own with 13 points and 10 rebounds, with guard Chance Gray scoring 18 points with four assists.
Ohio State cruised to a 106-42 win. The 60-point winning margin is only the ninth time in program history the Buckeyes reached the milestone. The last time was Dec. 22, 2009, when the Buckeyes beat Western Illinois 99-38.
What’s Next
Following the two-game mini-road trip, the Buckeyes are back home Sunday when the Bowling Green Falcons come to Columbus. Ohio State has played BG just once in the past 10 years, defeating the Falcons 94-63 in November 2021. The Scarlet and Gray hold a 24-3 record over the Falcons in program histories.
McGuff’s daughter Keiryn McGuff plays for BG but suffered an ACL injury on Jan. 20, 2024, in a 56-47 defeat to the Miami Redhawks.