As it often is, No. 12 Ohio State was led by star sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge and shooting guard Chance Gray in its 71-69 win over No. 9 TCU on Monday. Cambridge and Gray, who for the season are Ohio State’s two leading scorers, combined to score 40 of 71 points in the win.
Although Cambridge has been a consistent offensive force for the Buckeyes, Gray has dealt with some inconsistencies. The senior guard is Ohio State’s second leading scorer, but headed into the TCU games, was only shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Against the Horned Frogs, she certainly found a rhythm. Gray finished the game with a team-high 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including 6 of 8 from three-point range.
After the game, McGuff credited Gray for keeping the Buckeyes in a game where they trailed by 10 points after the first quarter.
“Chance really stepped up and had an incredible game. We had a dreadful first quarter, as a team, but when we got going in the second quarter, much of that had to do with Chance,” McGuff said. “She kind of kept us in the game there in the first half, and then ultimately made a lot of big shots, none bigger than the three at the end of the game.”
The big shot that Gray hit against the Horned Frogs came in the fourth quarter, when Ohio State led just 67-66 with less than a minute to go. After a pass and screen set by Cambridge, Gray drained an open triple to give her team a 70-66 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
McGuff said that the play was actually designed for Cambridge.
“We called a play, and Jaloni was the first option. She didn’t get a good shot and found Chance, because she didn’t get a good shot,” McGuff said. “It shows you who she is that she’s not going to take a bad shot, because the ball is in her hands. She found Chance, who has been red hot all day. It tells you a lot about Jaloni in terms of her basketball IQ, her feel for the game, and also, for her, it’s about winning, and that was a great winning play right there between the two of them.”
The play was a theme of the game. Even though Cambridge finished the game with 18 points, the second-most on the team, she wasn’t very efficient in the win, and shot just 7-22 from the field. She was at her best against the Horned Frogs as a playmaker and went for a game-high total of eight assists.
Cambridge said after the game that she’s proud of her ability to impact the game without scoring.
“I’m just leaning on my teammates and still playing the game the right way,” Cambridge said when asked about her mentality after getting out to a slow shooting start. “No matter how bad I’m shooting, I’m never going to put my head down. I’m always looking at my coaches, looking at my teammates, they’re just telling me what to do. I still had eight assists, which is really good for me, something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time is getting my assists up. That just shows how much trust and faith I have in my teammates.”
