It wasn’t always pretty, but Ohio State (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) played well enough defensively and dominated the glass to secure a 71-49 win over Rutgers (8-6, 0-4 Big Ten) on Sunday. The Buckeyes shot just 27-65 (41.5 percent) from the field, but forced 21 turnovers and out-rebounded Rutgers 38-25.
As it has done several times this season, Ohio State struggled in the opening minutes. The Buckeyes made just 3 of their first 9 field goal attempts to fall behind 9-6, before junior guard Kennedy Cambridge made two free throws to start an 8-0 scoring run.
The run featured a couple of three-point makes, including one from senior guard T’yana Todd that followed an offensive rebound from Kennedy Cambridge and another from Cambridge that followed a steal from sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä.
However, Ohio State ended the first quarter on a scoring drought that lasted over four minutes, and the Scarlet Knights took advantage of the home team’s scoring woes with an 8-0 scoring run.
Sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge tied the game at 17 early in the second quarter with a three-point jumper, but Rutgers responded with its own triple 30 seconds later.
Neither team made a field goal for over three minutes until Jaloni Cambridge made a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 20.
Both offenses remained cold until late in the second quarter when Lemmilä started an 11-0 scoring run with a free throw. During the run, Kennedy Cambridge made a layup, before sophomore guard Ava Watson nailed a three-pointer, and Gray capped the run with an and-1 layup.
Rutgers made a three-pointer before halftime, but Ohio State still carried a 31-26 lead into the locker room.
Rutgers scored the first basket of the third quarter, but Gray helped Ohio State grow its lead with six straight points as part of an 8-0 run.
However, Ohio State struggled down the stretch of the third quarter, only making one of its last five field goals, and Rutgers cut its deficit to 51-42.
After struggling to end the third quarter, the Buckeyes were much more effective in the fourth quarter. Ohio State went on an 8-0 run in the final frame with four of those points coming off offensive rebounds.
The Buckeyes only continued their fourth-quarter dominance from there. Ohio State finished the game on a 10-3 scoring run to win by 22 points.
The Buckeyes were led in the win by Jaloni Cambridge, who scored 18 points on 7-18 shooting. Gray (17 points) and Lemmilä (10 points) also reached double figures. Lemmilä was particularly sharp in the win. She had game-high totals of 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Kennedy Cambridge also had an impressive performance. The transfer out of Kentucky scored nine points and finished the game with team-high totals of seven assists and three steals.
As a team, Rutgers shot 22-56 from the floor (39.3 percent). Graduate guard Faith Blackstone led Rutgers with 15 points.
