No. 19 Ohio State (14-2, 4-1 Big Ten) outlasted Illinois (13-3, 3-2 Big Ten) 78-69 in a back-and-forth battle at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. on Wednesday.
As she has been many times this season, Jaloni Cambridge was the hero in the win. The Buckeyes’ star guard scored a career-high and game-high total 41 points on 15-of-25 shooting and also added a game-high total of six assists.
It was a back-and-forth bout between the Buckeyes and Fighting Illini from the very start of the game. Junior guard Kennedy Cambridge gave Ohio State an early 2-0 lead with a layup, but Illinois freshman forward Cearah Parchment made two straight layups to put the home team ahead 4-2 at the 7:59 mark of the first quarter.
Senior guard Chance Gray put Ohio State up by one with her own three-point jumper, but Parchment helped Illinois respond with an and-1 layup.
The lead continued to go back and forth during the next few minutes, as Gray converted on a three-point play at the 4:41 mark to put Ohio State up 15-13, but Illinois responded with its own three-point play 80 seconds later to lead by 1.
It wasn’t until the end of the first quarter when Illinois went on a 6-0 run that a team created a lead bigger than one possession. However, redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts helped keep Ohio State within reach with a mid-range jumper that made the score 22-19 heading into the second quarter.
After falling behind again by five in the second quarter, Ohio State reclaimed the lead with a 7-0 scoring run over 1:13. Kitts fueled the spurt with a three-point jumper that tied the game at 26 with 7:58 to go before halftime, and Jaloni Cambridge capped the run with a pair of free throws.
Illinois took a 31-30 lead with 6:44 to go before halftime when Parchment made an and-1 layup, but sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä put Ohio State back in front on the next possession with a layup.
The lead continued to go back and forth and the Fighting Illini took a two-point advantage late in the second quarter, after Ohio State had a scoring drought, but Jaloni Cambridge tied it up at 36 with 44 seconds left before halftime with a pair of free throws.
After trading baskets with Illinois to start the second half, Ohio State went back ahead 44-40 at the 4:53 mark with a 6-0 scoring run.
Illinois sophomore forward Berry Wallace ended the run with a jumper at the 4:31 mark, but Jaloni Cambridge scored eight points over the final four minutes of the fourth quarter to help Ohio State lead 52-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
Illinois opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but Ohio State extended its lead to 13 with a 9-0 scoring run. Jaloni Cambridge fueled the run with seven points.
Illinois responded with a 7-0 scoring run that cut Ohio State’s lead to 61-55, and after Gray made a mid-range jumper at the 5:13 mark, Wallace drained a three-pointer that made the score 63-58 with 4:36 remaining.
Kitts made a clutch and-1 layup to put Ohio State back up by eight points with 3:38 to go in the game and Jaloni Cambridge put Ohio State up 10 with a mid-range jumper. After Illinois scored five straight points, Jaloni Cambridge scored five straight to give Ohio State a 73-63 lead with 1:13 remaining before the final buzzer.
The Buckeyes missed a couple of free throws down the stretch, but forced the Fighting Illini to miss their final four field goal attempts to win the game by nine.
Jaloni Cambridge was by far Ohio State’s leading scorer in the win, but Gray (18 points) and Kitts (10 points) also reached double-figures. Lemmilä grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Ohio State.
As a team, Ohio State shot well from the field. The Buckeyes connected on 29 of 60 field goal attempts (48.3 percent) and held Illinois to 28-of-66 shooting (42.4 percent).
Parchment was Illinois’ leading scorer, scoring 20 points after shooting 8 of 14 from the field. Wallace was the Fighting Illini’s second-leading scorer. She finished the game with 17 points.
