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“Who wants to lose?” How the Cambridge sisters led Ohio State over Maryland
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Coming back from 15 points down, Ohio State won its third ranked game of the season behind the best dual performance of the Cambridge sisters
The 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season is peculiar. Every season has a feel, and moments that stand out, but with a roster overhaul, weak non-conference schedule and expanded Big Ten, the campaign feels off. It feels different.
On Sunday, the Buckeyes fell to an attitude of superiority, falling to the then 9-9 and winless in Big Ten play Penn State Nittany Lions. Then, on Thursday, it looked like maybe that result wasn’t an outlier but a new identity of Ohio State.
In the first half, the Buckeyes were defeated on most fronts. They shot 22.9 percent, Maryland grabbed 30 rebounds to Ohio State’s 17 and the Buckeyes sent the Terps to the line 15 times, seemingly incapable of making a stop on defense.
Go back to the first quarter alone and McGuff went through his entire 10-player roster within seven minutes.
“We weren’t playing well,” said head coach Kevin McGuff, explaining why he was rotating so frequently. “So, just give some other people a chance, and Kennedy [Cambridge] got a chance and gave us a big spark.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge is no longer an unknown commodity for the Buckeyes. After joining last season and not playing a minute, culminating in a redshirt, Cambridge came in throughout the early parts of the season off the bench, and even started three games for injured forward Cotie McMahon. Every few games, Cambridge showed individual moments of flash and intensity.
Against Maryland, Cambridge had a sustained run in the second and third quarters that knocked Ohio State out of their stupor, especially coming out of the half time locker room. Down 10 points, McGuff called a timeout to regroup. Out of that break, Kennedy Cambridge grabbed a steal, one of two consecutive steals.
“I wish that y’all could just be in it,” said Kennedy Cambridge about being in the defense when it's clicking in the havoc-inducing press. “When you get a steal, it’s also like our teammates, it’s the energy. You see Cotie [McMahon] yelling, when TT [Taylor Thierry] get yelling, you really got to turn up for TT. It’s the energy and energy feeds.”
Kennedy Cambridge turned the defense into offense, scoring points seven through 11 of Ohio State’s 15-point third quarter run. The guard got the game to within a single possession when she went on a fast break, compliments of a quarterback pass from McMahon. Kennedy Cambridge didn’t rush the shot, instead waiting for Maryland forward Christina Dalce to leap over her in an attempt to block, before hitting the layup.
Kennedy Cambridge followed up with a celebration fit for the guard who wears her emotions on her sleeve.
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Ohio State women’s basketball on Twitter | @OhioStateWBB
On the next offensive possession, Kennedy Cambridge hit a three-point shot from the corner to give Ohio State its first lead of the game. A lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“She does something that not a lot of people are willing to do,” said Jaloni Cambridge. “Not just in the country, but in the world. I mean, you just see her and you just see her flying around, but she literally gives her all like it’s her last game. And I just love that so much and she’s always been that type of person.”
Those were the last points in the game from Kennedy Cambridge, but they were crucial and timely. Younger sister Jaloni Cambridge came in afterwards and saw the win home.
Jaloni Cambridge led Ohio State in the second half with 16 points, splitting them between the third and fourth quarters. When Maryland got the game to within six points with three minutes remaining, Cambridge scored four of the Buckeyes final six points to give the Scarlet and Gray its first win over a top 10 opponent this season.
It was the first game of the season where both Cambridge sisters were firing at their best and at the same time. A lethal combination that made up for a night where starting shooting guard Chance Gray scored no points and forward Ajae Petty added seven points but played only nine minutes.
Ultimately what did in the Terrapins was injury and fatigue. Monday, the program announced guard Bri McDaniel, arguably the heart and linchpin of the Terps, suffered an ACL tear and is out the rest of the season. Then, a few hours later, team leader Shyanne Sellers suffered a contact injury on her right knee, missing Thursday’s game in Columbus.
Even so, the Terrapins physicality, rebounding and inside game was obviously enough to get Maryland the win. It was doing so until the third quarter. What ended up giving the Buckeyes the win was its conditioning.
All the sprints, all the scrimmages and all the running in practice was something Maryland couldn’t match. Beating a tough ranked opponent through consistent speed and intensity is a badge of honor for a team like the Buckeyes.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I came in here and that was definitely one of the things that I really had to switch my mind and be like, you got to do it because this is what matters,” said Jaloni Cambridge.
That conditioning wore the Terrapins down as the game progressed. After confidently hitting layups in the paint with frequency and efficiency in the first half, the second half showcased a mostly five-player rotation (only one of the four bench players logged more than 10 minutes, with Mir McLean playing 12 minutes) throwing up shots they no longer had the energy to hit.
Against Penn State, and without Jaloni Cambridge available due to illness, the same conditioning and intensity wasn’t there from all the Buckeyes. McMahon and Gray played until the final buzzer but it was hardly a team performance.
The win against Maryland featured a rough start, but Ohio State kept going and it eventually paid off.
“I don’t care if we down by 20, who wants to lose?” said Jaloni Cambridge. “If you want to lose, you’re going to let up, but that’s not who we are and we’ve shown that game after game.”
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Coming back from 15 points down, Ohio State won its third ranked game of the season behind the best dual performance of the Cambridge sisters
The 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season is peculiar. Every season has a feel, and moments that stand out, but with a roster overhaul, weak non-conference schedule and expanded Big Ten, the campaign feels off. It feels different.
On Sunday, the Buckeyes fell to an attitude of superiority, falling to the then 9-9 and winless in Big Ten play Penn State Nittany Lions. Then, on Thursday, it looked like maybe that result wasn’t an outlier but a new identity of Ohio State.
In the first half, the Buckeyes were defeated on most fronts. They shot 22.9 percent, Maryland grabbed 30 rebounds to Ohio State’s 17 and the Buckeyes sent the Terps to the line 15 times, seemingly incapable of making a stop on defense.
Go back to the first quarter alone and McGuff went through his entire 10-player roster within seven minutes.
“We weren’t playing well,” said head coach Kevin McGuff, explaining why he was rotating so frequently. “So, just give some other people a chance, and Kennedy [Cambridge] got a chance and gave us a big spark.
Redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge is no longer an unknown commodity for the Buckeyes. After joining last season and not playing a minute, culminating in a redshirt, Cambridge came in throughout the early parts of the season off the bench, and even started three games for injured forward Cotie McMahon. Every few games, Cambridge showed individual moments of flash and intensity.
Against Maryland, Cambridge had a sustained run in the second and third quarters that knocked Ohio State out of their stupor, especially coming out of the half time locker room. Down 10 points, McGuff called a timeout to regroup. Out of that break, Kennedy Cambridge grabbed a steal, one of two consecutive steals.
“I wish that y’all could just be in it,” said Kennedy Cambridge about being in the defense when it's clicking in the havoc-inducing press. “When you get a steal, it’s also like our teammates, it’s the energy. You see Cotie [McMahon] yelling, when TT [Taylor Thierry] get yelling, you really got to turn up for TT. It’s the energy and energy feeds.”
Kennedy Cambridge turned the defense into offense, scoring points seven through 11 of Ohio State’s 15-point third quarter run. The guard got the game to within a single possession when she went on a fast break, compliments of a quarterback pass from McMahon. Kennedy Cambridge didn’t rush the shot, instead waiting for Maryland forward Christina Dalce to leap over her in an attempt to block, before hitting the layup.
Kennedy Cambridge followed up with a celebration fit for the guard who wears her emotions on her sleeve.
On the next offensive possession, Kennedy Cambridge hit a three-point shot from the corner to give Ohio State its first lead of the game. A lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“She does something that not a lot of people are willing to do,” said Jaloni Cambridge. “Not just in the country, but in the world. I mean, you just see her and you just see her flying around, but she literally gives her all like it’s her last game. And I just love that so much and she’s always been that type of person.”
Those were the last points in the game from Kennedy Cambridge, but they were crucial and timely. Younger sister Jaloni Cambridge came in afterwards and saw the win home.
Jaloni Cambridge led Ohio State in the second half with 16 points, splitting them between the third and fourth quarters. When Maryland got the game to within six points with three minutes remaining, Cambridge scored four of the Buckeyes final six points to give the Scarlet and Gray its first win over a top 10 opponent this season.
.@kencambridge_ x @JaloniCambridge for twopic.twitter.com/jyEwr3CCL1
— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) January 24, 2025
It was the first game of the season where both Cambridge sisters were firing at their best and at the same time. A lethal combination that made up for a night where starting shooting guard Chance Gray scored no points and forward Ajae Petty added seven points but played only nine minutes.
Ultimately what did in the Terrapins was injury and fatigue. Monday, the program announced guard Bri McDaniel, arguably the heart and linchpin of the Terps, suffered an ACL tear and is out the rest of the season. Then, a few hours later, team leader Shyanne Sellers suffered a contact injury on her right knee, missing Thursday’s game in Columbus.
Even so, the Terrapins physicality, rebounding and inside game was obviously enough to get Maryland the win. It was doing so until the third quarter. What ended up giving the Buckeyes the win was its conditioning.
All the sprints, all the scrimmages and all the running in practice was something Maryland couldn’t match. Beating a tough ranked opponent through consistent speed and intensity is a badge of honor for a team like the Buckeyes.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I came in here and that was definitely one of the things that I really had to switch my mind and be like, you got to do it because this is what matters,” said Jaloni Cambridge.
That conditioning wore the Terrapins down as the game progressed. After confidently hitting layups in the paint with frequency and efficiency in the first half, the second half showcased a mostly five-player rotation (only one of the four bench players logged more than 10 minutes, with Mir McLean playing 12 minutes) throwing up shots they no longer had the energy to hit.
Against Penn State, and without Jaloni Cambridge available due to illness, the same conditioning and intensity wasn’t there from all the Buckeyes. McMahon and Gray played until the final buzzer but it was hardly a team performance.
The win against Maryland featured a rough start, but Ohio State kept going and it eventually paid off.
“I don’t care if we down by 20, who wants to lose?” said Jaloni Cambridge. “If you want to lose, you’re going to let up, but that’s not who we are and we’ve shown that game after game.”
Continue reading...