No. 10 Ohio State women battle USC, win 88-83

No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball was in uncharted territory on Sunday afternoon when it entered a matchup against the USC Trojans on a two-game losing streak. Before the last week, the Buckeyes bounced back from previous defeats but had a humbling week against Maryland and Minnesota. Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side hoped to avoid its first three-game losing streak since January of 2023, and after a four-quarter battle, the Buckeyes came away with a 88-83 victory.

First quarter

Before the game, the program honored guards Chance Gray and T’Yana Todd on Senior Day, the annual tradition where teams highlight the accomplishments and time given to programs.

From the jump, Ohio State looked like a motivated side. The Buckeyes rebounded offensively, scored baskets through simple passes into the paint and jumped out to a quick six-point lead after they made the first three baskets of the game. Point guard Jaloni Cambridge was the key contributor with eight points in the first quarter.

What made the scoring more impressive was the defensive assignment on the sophomore in USC sophomore Kennedy Smith. The strong Trojan defender stands half a foot taller than Cambridge, making it difficult for the Buckeye to get inside. Eventually, the mismatch hurt Cambridge who missed three of her last four shots of the opening quarter.

The Buckeyes led for nearly the entire quarter until the Trojans began hitting their stride. Specifically, superstar freshman guard/forward Jazzy Davidson. Davidson is listed at only 6-foot-1, but that could have been when her recruiting first began years ago. The freshman towered over the Buckeye guards trying to guard her and Davidson had 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

Second quarter

Southern California carried a slim one-point lead into the second quarter and earned it thanks to a rebounding margin that shifted away from the Buckeyes. Ohio State started the game with an 11-15 advantage on the boards but USC surged ahead in the second quarter with a 15-4 advantage in the period.

That meant more possessions for the away side and a 10-point run to jump ahead seven points on Ohio State. A McGuff timeout helped the Buckeyes regroup from a spell of lackluster offense and continued forced attempts against a USC team that towered over the group of smaller Buckeye guards.

Ohio State forced four turnovers to halt the run and score 10 of the next 12 points. Guard Ava Watson gave the Buckeyes its last lead of the half with a deep three-point shot, but that was the last made shot and Ohio State missed its last four attempts to enter halftime down 38-35.

Third quarter

As usual, Ohio State came out of the locker room with a renewed focus on defense. After all, the Buckeyes did force 13 turnovers from the Trojans in the first half and that was the best way to neutralize USC’s offensive attack. In 2:12 of the half, the Buckeyes forced three from the visitors and Ohio State returned to the lead, but only momentarily.

USC and Ohio State traded blows, with neither side really taking over the game, but USC slowly got back into the lead and increased it with consistent baskets. The Trojans went 11-for-15 from the field in the quarter and hit half of their four three-point attempts. Ohio State had a strong shooting quarter, but could not match up at 57.1% efficiency.

Davidson and Smith scored 17 of the Trojan’s 26 points in the quarter, including both of the shots from beyond the arc. At the end of the third quarter, USC held a three-point lead

Fourth quarter

The Buckeyes switched up their defensive focus in the fourth quarter with the amount of open shots taken by the Trojans in the third quarter. Ohio State shifted to a half court zone to stop scorers like Smith and Davidson. USC missed its first three shots of the quarter, while Jaloni Cambridge scored five points to give the Buckeyes the lead with 7:06 remaining.

Then Ohio State kept piling on. The Buckeyes went on a 15-point run before Davidson broke the streak from the free throw line. Southern California looked gassed as the Buckeyes’ continued to apply pressure. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s Trojans missed their first six shots of the quarter and only scored on 4-for-6 free throw shooting.

Davidson and the Trojans did not throw in the towel by any means and a seven-point run late in the quarter made things interesting. A late Bryn Martin steal from Davidson with 34 seconds left iced the victory and ended with a Chance Gray basket for an eight-point lead. The Buckeyes only needed to hit free throws to end the game, and accomplished the feat to hold onto the victory, but USC made it interesting with two three-point shots made to make it a one-possession win.

Number of the game: 4

Guard Kennedy Cambridge had four steals in the game, which put her four steals away from breaking the single-season steal record for Ohio State. While the guard did foul out with 4:08 remaining, her defensive impact, and team high 10 points in the third quarter, kept Ohio State in the game long enough to wear the visitors down by the fourth quarter.

Key performers

Ohio State

Jaloni Cambridge: 33 points, 6 rebounds
Kennedy Cambridge: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals
Elsa Lemmilä: 10 points, 10 rebounds

Southern California

Jazzy Davidson: 32 points, 6 rebounds,4 assists, 3 steals
Kennedy Smith: 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

Up Next

Ohio State is back at home for potentially its last home game of the season, against the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes have not lost to the Wolverines in Columbus since Jan. 27, 2022 when then Michigan forward Naz Hillmon led the Maize and Blue.

Before the Buckeyes’ matchup against USC, the Wolverines were in Iowa where they lost 62-44 following a strong inside game for forward Hannah Stuelke and center Ava Heiden.

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