No. 11 Ohio State Uses Dominant Second Half To Beat Wisconsin 81-58

No. 11 Ohio State (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten) used a dominant second-half performance to pick up an 81-58 win over Wisconsin (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) on Thursday.

After a sluggish first half, Ohio State only led 29-28 at halftime, but outscored the Badgers 52-30 in the final 20 minutes to win the game. Sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge had yet another impressive scoring night. She finished the game with 29 points on 12-21 shooting, including 2-3 from three-point range.

Once again, the Buckeyes were not at their best in the opening minutes of the contest. Ohio State allowed Wisconsin to make four three-pointers in the opening 4:15 of the game to fall behind 14-7. 

After a layup from sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge, Wisconsin continued to extend its lead with four straight points.

The Buckeyes scored six straight to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 18-15. However, after a three-point jumper from Lily Krahn, Wisconsin took a 23-17 lead into the second quarter.

Ohio State was much improved defensively to start the second quarter. The Buckeyes held the Badgers scoreless for the first 5:15 of the frame to go on an 8-0 scoring run and take a 25-23 lead.

Wisconsin finally scored its first points in the second quarter on a layup, but senior guard Chance Gray made a three-pointer on the next possession to put Ohio State ahead 28-25.

Neither team scored for the next three minutes, but Wisconsin forward Destiny Howell broke the drought with a three-pointer to tie the game at 28.

The Buckeyes regained the lead on a free throw by junior guard Kennedy Cambridge, but ending the half on a field goal drought of 4:30, they only took a 29-28 lead into halftime.

After an in ice cold finish to the first half, the Buckeyes started the second half with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Ava Watson, however, Wisconsin went on a 6-1 scoring run to take a 34-33 lead. 

With 5:24 left in the third quarter, Howell made another three-pointer to put Wisconsin ahead 39-37, but Ohio State answered with a 13-3 scoring run to lead 50-42.

Jaloni Cambridge fueled the run. She scored 10 points during the run. Wisconsin ended a long scoring drought with a free throw, but Gray drained a three-pointer in the third quarter to put Ohio State ahead by 10.

Howell answered with a layup, but Cambridge drained a three-pointer at the end of the frame to put Ohio State ahead 56-45 with 30 seconds left.

The Buckeyes’ momentum didn’t stop after the quarter break. They scored the first seven points of the quarter to lead 63-45.

Cambridge was Ohio State’s leading scorer, but sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä also had an outstanding performance. She scored 14 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with four blocks. Gray (10 points) was the only other player to finish in double-figures in scoring.
It wasn’t Ohio State’s most-efficient shooting night. The Buckeyes made just 31-67 field goals (46.3 percent) but turned over the Badgers 25 times and only had nine of their own turnovers.

Wisconsin was led by Howell in the loss. She scored 29 points on 11 of 16 shooting (68.8 percent)