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Freshman Jaloni Cambridge teaches Michigan State a lesson in respect
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Tension in the matchup turned into a career night for the freshman, sending a message to B1G upperclassmen
Life is about growth. For a freshman in college basketball, there’s a lot of it from trying to adjust to the college game, play against the best players in the country, and learning to choose your battles. On Wednesday night, freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge wasn’t learning — she was teaching.
Ohio State women’s basketball welcomed the Michigan State Spartans to Columbus in a game full of intrigue. From former teammates Chance Gray and Grace Vanslooten playing against each other for the first time to the return of former Ohio State bench guard Emma Shumate, who left the program in the summer for an in-conference transfer.
Gameplay-wise, the defense was the area of focus for those interested only in on-court drama. The Buckeyes, who lead the conference in forcing turnovers and steals, played the second-place team sitting near them in both categories. It was two full-court pressing teams who frustrate opponents. The thought being that whichever side was the least frustrated would come away as the victors.
It looked like one way the Spartans hoped to achieve their desired result was to make the night difficult for Cambridge. Michigan State senior forward Jocelyn Tate and junior guard Theryn Hallock didn’t give the freshman much rest, and tried playing with more physicality to leverage their experience over Cambridge — it did not work.
The Michigan State Spartans didn’t only leave Columbus with a double-digit defeat, they took with them a clear message that Cambridge isn’t a player easily rattled.
Cambridge delivered that message with her play on the court, scoring 33 points, which is a new career high for the first-year point guard. In the third quarter, Cambridge let them know that their strategy wasn’t effective when she went up for a layup, got fouled by Tate, and Cambridge stood there and stared. It’s a reaction that Cambridge has shown in past games, but this one meant something.
“I give the same energy back that people give to me. If you’re going to do something to me, I’m going to give it right back,” said Cambridge. “I don’t start anything. You’ll never see me start anything.”
It was a big moment in an important game for both sides. For Ohio State, they could clinch a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and solidify their chances of hosting early rounds of March Madness. For Michigan State, it kept them in the running for a top-four spot in the conference for tournament seeding.
The second half of the game was chippier than the first, with the two sides combining for 24 fouls and the refs calling 15 of them on the Buckeyes. So, the ref approached Cambridge on the stare that didn’t follow Tate necessarily, but the message was sent. Cambridge didn’t get a foul called for the reaction, but had to defend herself, throwing her hands up and telling the referee “I didn’t do nothing!”
What Michigan State didn’t do was stop Cambridge, scoring 14 points in the stare-down quarter and going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the process.
“Just because I’m a freshman doesn’t mean I’m a baby,” Cambridge said. “I’ve been around basketball for a long time. At the end of the day, I feel like I deserve the respect.”
In the fourth quarter, Michigan State ramped up their full court defense and sent two defenders to Cambridge on every inbound pass. Despite Cambridge getting knocked down twice on inbounds, a foul wasn’t called against the Spartans, but none of the times ended with Cambridge giving the ball away.
On the other end, the Spartans picked up foul after foul. The visitor’s last six points of the game were free throws, and the first two of those six cut the Ohio State deficit to seven points when the quarter began with a 20-point advantage for the home side. Cambridge responded with four of Ohio State’s final eight to put the game away.
“I do think some of those calls, they were just kind of giving to them. But we played through it,” said Cambridge. “We didn’t let the ref get in our head. We kept fighting to the end of the game.”
Cambridge ran into early season knocks, taking big contact and hurting her shoulder and hip in the process, but quickly adjusted and emerged as the Buckeyes’ number one offensive weapon.
The guard’s performance against Michigan State was a level that Ohio State had not seen from her this season. Sure, Cambridge has two 29-point games already in Big Ten play, but the strategy of rattling the guard backfired in a big way. It brought out a different level. A level the Spartans aren’t likely to forget.
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Tension in the matchup turned into a career night for the freshman, sending a message to B1G upperclassmen
Life is about growth. For a freshman in college basketball, there’s a lot of it from trying to adjust to the college game, play against the best players in the country, and learning to choose your battles. On Wednesday night, freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge wasn’t learning — she was teaching.
Ohio State women’s basketball welcomed the Michigan State Spartans to Columbus in a game full of intrigue. From former teammates Chance Gray and Grace Vanslooten playing against each other for the first time to the return of former Ohio State bench guard Emma Shumate, who left the program in the summer for an in-conference transfer.
Gameplay-wise, the defense was the area of focus for those interested only in on-court drama. The Buckeyes, who lead the conference in forcing turnovers and steals, played the second-place team sitting near them in both categories. It was two full-court pressing teams who frustrate opponents. The thought being that whichever side was the least frustrated would come away as the victors.
It looked like one way the Spartans hoped to achieve their desired result was to make the night difficult for Cambridge. Michigan State senior forward Jocelyn Tate and junior guard Theryn Hallock didn’t give the freshman much rest, and tried playing with more physicality to leverage their experience over Cambridge — it did not work.
The Michigan State Spartans didn’t only leave Columbus with a double-digit defeat, they took with them a clear message that Cambridge isn’t a player easily rattled.
Cambridge delivered that message with her play on the court, scoring 33 points, which is a new career high for the first-year point guard. In the third quarter, Cambridge let them know that their strategy wasn’t effective when she went up for a layup, got fouled by Tate, and Cambridge stood there and stared. It’s a reaction that Cambridge has shown in past games, but this one meant something.
“I give the same energy back that people give to me. If you’re going to do something to me, I’m going to give it right back,” said Cambridge. “I don’t start anything. You’ll never see me start anything.”
It was a big moment in an important game for both sides. For Ohio State, they could clinch a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and solidify their chances of hosting early rounds of March Madness. For Michigan State, it kept them in the running for a top-four spot in the conference for tournament seeding.
The second half of the game was chippier than the first, with the two sides combining for 24 fouls and the refs calling 15 of them on the Buckeyes. So, the ref approached Cambridge on the stare that didn’t follow Tate necessarily, but the message was sent. Cambridge didn’t get a foul called for the reaction, but had to defend herself, throwing her hands up and telling the referee “I didn’t do nothing!”
What Michigan State didn’t do was stop Cambridge, scoring 14 points in the stare-down quarter and going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc in the process.
“Just because I’m a freshman doesn’t mean I’m a baby,” Cambridge said. “I’ve been around basketball for a long time. At the end of the day, I feel like I deserve the respect.”
In the fourth quarter, Michigan State ramped up their full court defense and sent two defenders to Cambridge on every inbound pass. Despite Cambridge getting knocked down twice on inbounds, a foul wasn’t called against the Spartans, but none of the times ended with Cambridge giving the ball away.
On the other end, the Spartans picked up foul after foul. The visitor’s last six points of the game were free throws, and the first two of those six cut the Ohio State deficit to seven points when the quarter began with a 20-point advantage for the home side. Cambridge responded with four of Ohio State’s final eight to put the game away.
“I do think some of those calls, they were just kind of giving to them. But we played through it,” said Cambridge. “We didn’t let the ref get in our head. We kept fighting to the end of the game.”
Cambridge ran into early season knocks, taking big contact and hurting her shoulder and hip in the process, but quickly adjusted and emerged as the Buckeyes’ number one offensive weapon.
The guard’s performance against Michigan State was a level that Ohio State had not seen from her this season. Sure, Cambridge has two 29-point games already in Big Ten play, but the strategy of rattling the guard backfired in a big way. It brought out a different level. A level the Spartans aren’t likely to forget.
Continue reading...