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No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball outlasts Rutgers comeback attempts, win 77-63
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State women’s basketball on Twitter | @OhioStateWBB
A battle in the paint fell the Buckeyes’ way Sunday in Piscataway.
A freshmen showdown between No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball’s point guard Jaloni Cambridge and Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller took a different direction Sunday. Ohio State withstood an outstanding performance from Destiny Adams to defeat the Scarlet Knights 77-63.
Ohio State benefited from the return of Cambridge immediately, part of a Buckeye defense that forced turnovers early and often in the first quarter. The freshman forced a steal early and had three assists in the first four minutes of the game, going up against McMiller. Cambridge’s points of the game came up against McMiller directly, running to the basket, hitting a running layup, and drawing a foul.
The Buckeyes built up an 11-point lead with 12 points off seven first-quarter turnovers, but Rutgers forward Destiny Adams single-handedly got the Scarlet Knights back in the game.
It began with work inside the paint, defensively. Ohio State tried to establish physical play in the paint but each time Adams was on the other side, it turned into a charge against the Scarlet and Gray. Adams forced four charges in the first quarter. Offensively she was as effective. Forwards Ajae Petty and Elsa Lemmilä struggled to stop Adams, who scored 12 of Rutgers’ 16 first-quarter points and added four rebounds.
With Adams’ play on both sides of the ball, Rutgers trimmed the lead down to four points, but Cambridge found fellow freshman Ava Watson to hit a three with seconds remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Buckeyes found patience as the key to getting their interior offense back on track. Ohio State took more of the clock to add extra passes and find lanes. When the baskets came from that movement, including choosing their battles against Adams inside, it turned into a stronger defense.
After 15 minutes, Rutgers’ McMiller, who entered the day averaging 20.9 points per game, was 1-of-7 with two points and four turnovers.
Cambridge also struggled offensively, going 1-of-10 from the floor in the first half. She was shaking off a little rust from not playing for 19 days, but the freshman still went into halftime with five assists and four rebounds.
Ohio State went into halftime with a 46-25 lead because they limited Rutgers’ shooting. The Buckeyes kept Adams down to four points and forced a 25 percent shooting quarter from the home side.
Out of halftime, McMiller picked up two quick fouls in the first minute of the third quarter and went to the bench. Adams again responded. The forward had an assist, block, and 4 points in a nine-point run over the first 3:05 of the quarter, cutting Ohio State’s lead down to 12 points.
The Buckeyes had trouble getting back into any sort of offensive rhythm with Rutgers dialing up the defensive intensity. Ohio State scored one point in the first half of the quarter, missing all seven attempted shots from the floor.
However, Ohio State turned it around. After Adams missed four free throws to potentially put the deficit into single figures, the Buckeyes got Adams in foul trouble herself, picking up her fourth on an attempted charge but with her feet not set it put the senior on the bench.
Ohio State scored 13 out of the next 14 points, making the attempted comeback short-lived. In just 2:25 of game time, the Buckeyes turned their 11-point lead back up to 23 points.
Despite the foul trouble for both Adams and McMiller, head coach Coquese Washington brought the duo back in near the end of the third quarter. The two scored the final seven of the third quarter to put the lead down to 17 points, including a deep three-point shot by McMiller that looked to allow the freshman to breathe after going 0-of-2 from beyond the arc until the make.
Those seven points started a 13-point run that stretched into the fourth quarter. Like the start of the third, the Buckeyes struggled to find any sort of offense against a Rutgers side that began playing a full-court press to successfully throw off the Scarlet and Gray.
Adams led all players in the game with 31 points, adding her fifth double-double of the season with 17 rebounds, but struggled from the free throw line. The senior went 9-of-18 from the line leaving off much-needed points for Rutgers that could have made the game closer in the second half.
With 2:30 remaining, Rutgers was again on the cusp of a comeback. After McMiller hit another deep three from the “R” on the New Jersey logo, a six-point run put Rutgers down single digits for the first time since 6:39 remaining in the second quarter.
Responding was Ohio State guard Chance Gray. The guard led the Buckeyes’ scoring in the fourth quarter with six points, and with 1:57 remaining hit a layup to hit over 1,000 points in the junior’s NCAA career.
Rutgers pushed through the final buzzer, but pockets of Ohio State intensity pushed the game out of the home side’s reach.
Petty and McMahon led the way for the Scarlet and Gray in the victory, both hitting double-doubles with 16 points. McMahon had the slight edge on the boards, grabbing 11 to Petty’s 10.
The Buckeyes are off until next Sunday when the Northwestern Wildcats travel to the Schottenstein Center. After an early season win over the 10-2 Utah Utes, Northwestern has struggled. The Wildcats take on the Oregon Ducks on New Year’s Eve, after losing to the Washington Huskies on Saturday 90-71.
Ohio State has a four-game winning streak against Northwestern, dating back to the 2021-22 season.
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
Ohio State women’s basketball on Twitter | @OhioStateWBB
A battle in the paint fell the Buckeyes’ way Sunday in Piscataway.
A freshmen showdown between No. 10 Ohio State women’s basketball’s point guard Jaloni Cambridge and Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller took a different direction Sunday. Ohio State withstood an outstanding performance from Destiny Adams to defeat the Scarlet Knights 77-63.
Ohio State benefited from the return of Cambridge immediately, part of a Buckeye defense that forced turnovers early and often in the first quarter. The freshman forced a steal early and had three assists in the first four minutes of the game, going up against McMiller. Cambridge’s points of the game came up against McMiller directly, running to the basket, hitting a running layup, and drawing a foul.
The Buckeyes built up an 11-point lead with 12 points off seven first-quarter turnovers, but Rutgers forward Destiny Adams single-handedly got the Scarlet Knights back in the game.
It began with work inside the paint, defensively. Ohio State tried to establish physical play in the paint but each time Adams was on the other side, it turned into a charge against the Scarlet and Gray. Adams forced four charges in the first quarter. Offensively she was as effective. Forwards Ajae Petty and Elsa Lemmilä struggled to stop Adams, who scored 12 of Rutgers’ 16 first-quarter points and added four rebounds.
With Adams’ play on both sides of the ball, Rutgers trimmed the lead down to four points, but Cambridge found fellow freshman Ava Watson to hit a three with seconds remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Buckeyes found patience as the key to getting their interior offense back on track. Ohio State took more of the clock to add extra passes and find lanes. When the baskets came from that movement, including choosing their battles against Adams inside, it turned into a stronger defense.
After 15 minutes, Rutgers’ McMiller, who entered the day averaging 20.9 points per game, was 1-of-7 with two points and four turnovers.
Cambridge also struggled offensively, going 1-of-10 from the floor in the first half. She was shaking off a little rust from not playing for 19 days, but the freshman still went into halftime with five assists and four rebounds.
Ohio State went into halftime with a 46-25 lead because they limited Rutgers’ shooting. The Buckeyes kept Adams down to four points and forced a 25 percent shooting quarter from the home side.
Out of halftime, McMiller picked up two quick fouls in the first minute of the third quarter and went to the bench. Adams again responded. The forward had an assist, block, and 4 points in a nine-point run over the first 3:05 of the quarter, cutting Ohio State’s lead down to 12 points.
The Buckeyes had trouble getting back into any sort of offensive rhythm with Rutgers dialing up the defensive intensity. Ohio State scored one point in the first half of the quarter, missing all seven attempted shots from the floor.
However, Ohio State turned it around. After Adams missed four free throws to potentially put the deficit into single figures, the Buckeyes got Adams in foul trouble herself, picking up her fourth on an attempted charge but with her feet not set it put the senior on the bench.
Ohio State scored 13 out of the next 14 points, making the attempted comeback short-lived. In just 2:25 of game time, the Buckeyes turned their 11-point lead back up to 23 points.
Despite the foul trouble for both Adams and McMiller, head coach Coquese Washington brought the duo back in near the end of the third quarter. The two scored the final seven of the third quarter to put the lead down to 17 points, including a deep three-point shot by McMiller that looked to allow the freshman to breathe after going 0-of-2 from beyond the arc until the make.
Those seven points started a 13-point run that stretched into the fourth quarter. Like the start of the third, the Buckeyes struggled to find any sort of offense against a Rutgers side that began playing a full-court press to successfully throw off the Scarlet and Gray.
Adams led all players in the game with 31 points, adding her fifth double-double of the season with 17 rebounds, but struggled from the free throw line. The senior went 9-of-18 from the line leaving off much-needed points for Rutgers that could have made the game closer in the second half.
With 2:30 remaining, Rutgers was again on the cusp of a comeback. After McMiller hit another deep three from the “R” on the New Jersey logo, a six-point run put Rutgers down single digits for the first time since 6:39 remaining in the second quarter.
Responding was Ohio State guard Chance Gray. The guard led the Buckeyes’ scoring in the fourth quarter with six points, and with 1:57 remaining hit a layup to hit over 1,000 points in the junior’s NCAA career.
Rutgers pushed through the final buzzer, but pockets of Ohio State intensity pushed the game out of the home side’s reach.
Petty and McMahon led the way for the Scarlet and Gray in the victory, both hitting double-doubles with 16 points. McMahon had the slight edge on the boards, grabbing 11 to Petty’s 10.
What’s Next
The Buckeyes are off until next Sunday when the Northwestern Wildcats travel to the Schottenstein Center. After an early season win over the 10-2 Utah Utes, Northwestern has struggled. The Wildcats take on the Oregon Ducks on New Year’s Eve, after losing to the Washington Huskies on Saturday 90-71.
Ohio State has a four-game winning streak against Northwestern, dating back to the 2021-22 season.
Continue reading...