Game Preview: No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. Bowling Green
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The Buckeyes return home for one more game before a Thanksgiving trip to Florida
In the last seven days,
Ohio State women’s basketball showed the NCAA what it’s capable of in a couple different ways. On one hand, they displayed how they’re a young team with work to do but still showing promise in a 67-63 last-minute win over the Belmont Bruins. On the other hand, they’re a roster full of skill that can beat and bury opponents, like when they defeated the Ohio Bobcats by 64 points on Wednesday.
Now, in the final game before heading to Daytona, Florida for two games in two days, the Buckeyes welcome the Bowling Green Falcons to the Schottenstein Center.
Preview
The question on most minds heading into a second-straight game against a MAC school surrounds the availability of forward Cotie McMahon. In practice this week, McMahon suffered a lower leg injury that made her unavailable against the Bobcats. Friday, head coach Kevin McGuff didn’t rule the forward out, but did say her involvement in practice was limited.
For a game against Bowling Green where the Buckeyes should have little trouble pulling away a victory, risking further injury to McMahon isn’t likely. Instead, guard Kennedy Cambridge will fill in for the star junior. Cambridge started in Ohio, and McGuff confirmed this week that should McMahon be out, the older Cambridge sister is her replacement.
Watch the win over Ohio University to see that Cambridge works well in this starting lineup, and not only because she has the built in chemistry of playing with her sister Jaloni Cambridge. That certainly helps, but Cambridge’s intensity on both ends of the court made her difficult to play against for the mid-major.
Cambridge does have to reel in some of that intensity on the defensive end of the court after fouling out against the Bobcats.
Guard/forward hybrid Taylor Thierry will again slide into the power forward role next to Ajae Petty. The two make a formidable duo, despite not having the same ability as McMahon to drive to the basket.
Thierry showed improved long range shooting against Ohio, going 3-of-4 from deep and hitting the first three attempts in a row. Continue shooting like that and any defense will have another element of the Buckeyes to worry about.
The freshman Cambridge bounced back after a difficult 38 minutes against Belmont and Ohio had no answer. Cambridge had 19 points against the Bobcats and 10 of those came quickly to start the game.
Against Bowling Green, Cambridge will go up against senior Amy Velasco, who leads the Falcons with 19.8 points and 3.8 assists per game. Velasco played with Cotie McMahon in high school in Centerville, Ohio and has history playing against Ohio State during her freshman season.
In the third game of her NCAA career, Velasco had two points and three assists when Bowling Green again visited the Buckeyes and headed home with a 94-63 defeat to the eventual Big Ten regular season champions.
Velasco is the only name from that game four years ago, but there is another player with some experience playing against teams like Ohio State. Erika Porter, who started her NCAA career with Illinois before moving to Baylor, is finishing her eligibility with the Falcons in her second season with Bowling Green.
While Porter’s three games against Ohio State culminated in 15 minutes played and six points, all in one game, the forward had eight games last season where she scored at least 20 points, although none of those outings came against Power Four schools.
The fun off court storyline of Buckeyes head coach Kevin McGuff coaching against his daughter Keiryn McGuff won’t happen on Sunday. On Jan. 20, 2024, McGuff tore her ACL in a game against the Miami Redhawks and she’s yet to return to playing for the Falcons as she recovers.
Ohio State
G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Kennedy Cambridge
F- Taylor Thierry
F- Ajae Petty
Lineup Notes
- McMahon’s injury forced her to miss the first start of her career last game.
- Thierry’s double-double against the Bobcats is the fifth in her four seasons.
- Elsa Lemmilä’s 21 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks are all career highs for the freshman.
Bowling Green
G- Amy Velasco
G- Johnea Donahue
G- Paige Kohler
F- Erika Porter
F- Taya Ellis
Lineup Notes
- Kohler was on the 23-24 MAC All-Freshman team, averaging 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
- The last time Bowling Green played Ohio State, Robyn Fralick coached the Falcons. Last year, Fralick moved to the same role for the Michigan State Spartans.
- Velasco’s career high in scoring is due in part to more attention to shooting from deep, averaging 4.2 attempts per game and 2.2 made threes per game, both personal bests.
Prediction
This will be another game where Ohio State gets to stretch their 10-person cycle (and likely nine with McMahon potentially out).
Jaloni Cambridge and Chance Gray will start the game off quickly, with Kennedy Cambridge having a good performance offensively after shots didn’t fall well against the Bobcats. With a large lead built, freshmen Ava Watson and Elsa Lemmilä will get more key minutes in their first year of development.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Stream: B1G+
LGHL Score Prediction: 96-69, Ohio State Buckeyes
Thierry Nearing Milestone
Ohio State’s quiet forward is close to getting more attention than she probably wants. Thierry is 23 points away from hitting the 1,000-point milestone. However, the forward/guard’s career high is 23 points, making the Thanksgiving matchup against Old Dominion the more likely day Thierry hits the personal achievement.
It’s something to watch Sunday before Ohio State will go two weeks until they return to the Schottenstein Center. If Thierry gets close to the milestone against Bowling Green, don’t be surprised to see McGuff leave the senior in the game longer than usual to let her earn the moment on home court.
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️ 
ichigan hate.
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