No. 19 Ohio State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) bounced back from a close loss to UCLA with an 83-56 road win over Purdue (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten) on Wednesday.
The Buckeyes were dominant on both ends of the floor during the win, but they were especially strong on defense. Ohio State held Purdue to just 16-53 (30.2 percent) shooting in the win. The Buckeyes also forced 26 turnovers in the win and committed 13 turnovers.
The Buckeyes wasted no time in building their lead. Ohio State made four of its first five field goals to open the game on an 11-2 scoring run. Purdue’s Madison Layden-Zay stopped the Buckeyes’ surge momentarily with a three-pointer, but after both teams traded buckets, Ohio State scored six straight points to lead 19-7.
After Purdue ended a lengthy field goal drought with a layup at the 2:56 mark, Ohio State guards Ava Watson and Bryn Martin combined to hit back-to-back three-point jumpers to grow the lead to 25-10
The Boilermakers went on a 7-0 scoring run toward the end of the first quarter, but sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge made a three-point jumper as time expired on the first quarter.
Ohio State wasn’t quite as effective offensively in the second quarter, but didn’t let the Boilermakers get into any sort of offensive rhythm. The Buckeyes held Purdue scoreless for over five minutes during the second quarter to take a 41-19 lead.
Purdue slightly cut into Ohio State’s lead with a 7-2 scoring run, but Watson gave the Buckeyes a 47-28 halftime lead with a pair of free throws.
The Buckeyes were just as efficient to start the second half. Junior guard Chance Gray helped lead Ohio State on a third-quarter-opening 7-0 scoring run with a three-point jumper at the 8:58 mark.
Less than two minutes later, junior guard Kennedy Cambridge made her own three-point jumper that made the score 57-29 in favor of the visiting Buckeyes.
With a huge lead, Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff was able to play several backup players as early as the third quarter. Purdue had a little bit more success offensively with some of the Buckeyes’ bench players in the game, but Ohio State scored enough on the other end to take a 70-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
Jaloni Cambridge made her second three-point jumper of the game to open the fourth quarter, as the Buckeyes scored the first five points of the final frame.
From there, though, the Buckeyes struggled offensively in the fourth quarter. Ohio State connected on just 1 of its final 16 field goal attempts in the last 9:03 of the game. Still, the Buckeyes’ defense was strong enough to preserve the 27-point win.
While Purdue struggled all afternoon to find a rhythm, Ohio State boasted solid shooting numbers, despite the poor fourth quarter. The Buckeyes shot 29-69 (42.0 percent) from the field, which includes 9-25 (36.0 percent) from three-point range.
It was a balanced scoring effort from the Buckeyes. Kennedy Cambridge, who scored 16 points on 5-8 shooting, was the leading scorer, but three others reached double-figures, including Gray (14 points), Jaloni Cambridge (14 points) and Watson (13 points).
Redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts led Ohio State with 10 rebounds, while Jaloni Cambridge led the Buckeyes with seven assists and five steals.
Purdue was led in scoring by Layden-Zay, who had 17 points on 4-14 shooting.
