Cotie McMahon leads the charge before the Buckeyes face the Bruins and Trojans on the Pacific Coast
With a trip west looming for No. 8 Ohio State women’s basketball (20-1, 9-1), the Buckeyes welcomed the Washington Huskies (13-9, 4-6) to Columbus on Sunday. Cotie McMahon’s 17 points and a freshmen duo led the Scarlet and Gray to a 66-56 victory.
The visiting Huskies started off strong from the jump, getting out to a seven point lead in the first 2:09 of the quarter, prompting an Ohio State timeout. Of those seven points, six came inside the paint, with the Buckeyes’ interior defense on the back foot against a smaller, but quick, Washington starting five.
Washington achieved their lead through quick passing in transition, including two passes that looked more appropriate on the football field, trying to get the ball to the offensive end of the court on the inbound pass.
Out of the timeout, forward Cotie McMahon was the catalyst for the Scarlet and Gray’s early offense, scoring six of Ohio State’s 14 points of the first quarter. It began with the forward hitting her first three shots and calming the game down for the home side.
The Huskies held onto a two-possession lead until the final 10 seconds, when Taylor Thierry went to the free throw line to put the Buckeyes down a single point, a deficit carried into the second quarter.
That’s when things turned around for Ohio State, specifically through the play of role-players off the bench in center Elsa Lemmilä and Kennedy Cambridge. Lemmilä came in with height and speed, turning two more attempted long distance inbound passes by the Huskies into Ohio State possessions. Lemmilä had three steals in nine first half minutes.
Guard Kennedy Cambridge brought defensive intensity in midair herself, getting a block and two steals from her intense style on the court. The two had a plus/minus of +14 for Lemmilä and a team leading +16 for Kennedy Cambridge, meaning when the two were on the court, the Buckeyes were a better team.
The two underclassmen led a 12-point second quarter run, not allowing a made shot for the Huskies in the last 5:54 of the quarter. While it took some time to get a lead, the Buckeyes grabbed one and pulled away for a 10-point halftime lead.
Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge put the icing on the cake of the first half at the second quarter buzzer, hitting a midrange jumper at the free throw line as time expired.
Out of the locker room, Washington was aggressive, making up for 28.6 percent shooting in the second quarter to hit four of their first six shots of the third. Within two minutes, the visitors’ 10-point deficit shrunk to four, hitting their first two three-point shots after going 0-of-8 from deep in the first 20 minutes.
Defensively, Ohio State responded in the first half of the third quarter with four forced turnovers turning into six points. As quickly as the Huskies’ got back into the game, the home side pushed the lead back up to 10 points, forcing a timeout by Washington head coach Tina Langley.
McMahon and Jaloni Cambridge combined to score the last 10 points of the quarter, but a late Washington surge put pressure on the Buckeyes with a quarter left to play. The Huskies scored seven points in the final 1:45 of the quarter, and entered the fourth quarter down five points.
Ohio State didn’t enter the final quarter with much momentum, and the Huskies took more away hitting a three to start the frame. That shot was the first of three made baskets from deep from Washington’s first four attempts. However, it didn’t last long for the visitors with Jaloni Cambridge taking control on both side of the court.
The freshman point guard had a steal and two fast break layup to lead a six-point run that kept Washington off the scoreboard for 3:23 of game clock.
A recurring theme of the night was the play of McMahon, who again took the game on her shoulders with the Huskies cutting the lead late. The junior hit four points of a six-point run to extend the home lead up to 11 points with a minute remaining.
Ohio State held on to pick up the victory, staying undefeated at home this season with their 11th win at the Schottenstein Center.
McMahon led scoring for Ohio State in the win, scoring 19 points with five rebounds, while Jaloni Cambridge added 13 points with five rebounds and two assists. Guard Chance Gray scored 11 points and Lemmilä had seven rebounds, four points and three steals in the win.
For Washington, Hannah Stines added 17 points, with Dalayah Daniels scoring 13 points with seven rebounds, despite fouling out in the fourth quarter.
What’s Next
On Monday night, the Buckeyes travel to Los Angeles to face the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Wednesday and the No. 4 USC Trojans on Saturday. Last season, Ohio State lost to both sides, the Trojans in the first game of the season and the Bruins, in Columbus, on Dec. 18.
It’s the lone west coast trip in Big Ten play this season, before heading home for four of the remaining six regular season games coming at home, in Columbus.