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Ohio State Women's Basketball (2023-24 B1G CHAMPS)

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Game Preview: No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball travels to Belmont​

Ohio State’s made a living off mid-major teams so far this season. While only two games have been played, Sunday’s trip to Belmont is the third against a non-Power Five school and part of the 10 of 11 non-conference games not playing a team from one of the heavy-hitting conferences.

Before the season, coach McGuff admitted it’s part who’s available when it comes to scheduling but also getting the opportunity to play sides who are sneaky good, and can challenge the Buckeyes. So far that hasn’t happened, but with Belmont, things could get interesting, at least in stints.

Belmont’s been to the NCAA Tournament four times in the last seven seasons. In that run, they weren’t all one-and-done appearances. Take the 2022 tournament as the best example. In the Bruins’ final season in the Ohio Valley Conference, Belmont shocked not one but two teams in March.

Head coach Bart Brooks led his Bruins side to a double overtime win over the Oregon Ducks and narrowly lost to the Tennessee Volunteers 67-70 in the second round. Belmont is successful because they’re well-balanced.

In the second year of Missouri Valley Conference play, Belmont ended the campaign second behind the Drake Bulldogs, but with their man coverage defense allowed the least amount of points per game in the conference (62.3). They hold onto the ball well, giving up less than 15 turnovers per game and offensively take a lot of shots from deep.

Last season, Belmont was second to Drake with eight three-point shots made per game, and anyone can score them for Brooks’ side. Like forward Kendal Cheesman. The 6-foot-2 senior, who Brooks took out of the lineup to come off the bench this week in a win against Kennesaw State, scored 19 points including five shots from outside.

Belmont v Ohio State


The Bruins will challenge a Buckeyes team that allowed nine three-point shots against Cleveland State to start the season. Belmont will bring a similar challenge defensively, making Ohio State think twice about putting more of a presence in the paint.

Also, with a big like Cheesman who can score anywhere, it potentially takes Ohio State’s Ajae Petty out of the box or allows a shorter guard to post up against the forward. If Belmont is successful at drawing Petty out to the perimeter, it could mean trouble on the boards for the Scarlet and Gray, with Petty averaging five rebounds per game in the early season.

However, the biggest question for the Buckeyes isn’t in Xs and Os — it’s the status of Jaloni Cambridge.

The freshman phenom started her NCAA career strong, scoring 31 points against the CSU Vikings, but fell hard against the Charlotte 49ers to start the second half. McGuff said there was no way they’d put Cambridge back in with the game out of reach for Charlotte, which means if needed the point guard could have gotten into the game. Cambridge sat on the bench, and stood near it for a good chunk of the second half, after a brief trip to the medical room.

Will an abundance of caution have McGuff hold Cambridge back from starting in a game in her hometown?

If Cambridge doesn’t start, Madison Greene is already a starting-caliber point guard. While the scoring won’t be as explosive, giving Cambridge another game to rest wouldn’t be the end of the world. Based on McGuff’s starting habits though, it seems likely that Cambridge is in from the jump.

Should Cambridge not play, it means the injury to the guard might be more than was initially known following Tuesday’s home win.

Ohio State will still also have Cotie McMahon, Taylor Thierry, and Chance Gray to provide consistent offense. McMahon’s scoring numbers are down but are giving the ball away less and playing a more mature small-forward role for McGuff as players like Cambridge and Gray shine.

Against Charlotte, Gray had a program record trying nine three-pointers made in a game in only her second game as a Buckeye. It was Gray’s career-best scoring game ever after starting two years with the Oregon Ducks. That experience and shooting ability will be hard for the Bruins to stop if it carries over to the road trip.

It’s hard to compare Sunday’s game in Nashville to last season because both teams have different rosters. Each side has a vastly different starting lineup than last year when Ohio State 84-55. Cheesman returns from last year, along with fellow Preseason All-MVC picks Tuti Jones and Jailyn Banks. Last year, the three combined for 23 points against the Buckeyes, with Cheesman leading the way with 13. Expect the Bruins to fare better at home.

Joining them are Emily La Chappell and Kendall Holmes, both newer names to the program and averaging a combined 21 points per game.

Ohio State​

G- Jaloni Cambridge
G- Chance Gray
G- Taylor Thierry
F- Cotie McMahon
F- Ajae Petty

Lineup Notes​

  • Taylor Thierry is 47 points away from scoring 1,000 as a Buckeye
  • Elsa Lemmilä leads the team in rebounds per game with 6.5
  • Chance Gray tied Jaloni Cambridge scoring 19.5 points per game with her historic shooting night against Charlotte

Belmont​

G- Jailyn Banks
G- Emily La Chappell
G- Kendall Holmes
G- Tuti Jones
F- Kendal Cheesman

Lineup Notes​

  • Kendal Cheesman started 36 straight games for Belmont until coming off the bench in the Bruins’ last game, against Kennesaw State.
  • Kendall Holmes and Emily La Chappell are both transfers into Belmont. Holmes joined this season from South Dakota State and La Chappell joined from Marquette last season, but didn’t play against the Buckeyes.
  • The Bruins are the winningest WBB team in Tennessee in the past ten years, winning 236 games, the Tennessee Volunteers have 224

Prediction​

Cambridge will start, not missing a chance to play in front of her home crowd alongside her sister Kennedy Cambridge. Belmont will play stronger than last season, but the gap of talent is large enough that Ohio State will respond after a strong start from the Bruins.

Expect a first quarter where Belmont may even outscore the Buckeyes, but timeout and between-quarter adjustments will favor the Buckeyes. Taylor Thierry will have a more productive game with Belmont trying more outside play on offense. Thierry will be a strong outlet when Petty gets defensive attention, and defensively be able to post up against Cheesman should she move to the perimeter and shoot from deep.

How to Watch​

Date: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Where: Curb Event Center, Nashville, Tennessee
Stream: ESPN+

LGHL Score Prediction: 85-67, Ohio State Buckeyes​

 
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No. 12 Ohio State women’s basketball escape Belmont 67-63​

The Buckeyes survive a hardly fought battle in Nashville Sunday

Ohio State women’s basketball played two games fitting of a top 25 team playing a mid-major side to start the season. After rolling in wins over the Cleveland State Vikings and Charlotte 49ers, the No. 12 Buckeyes traveled to Nashville to face the Belmont Bruins. The ranking didn’t matter to the Missouri Valley Conference side, and Belmont kept the game close for 40 minutes in a 67-63 Buckeyes win.

Before Sunday’s game, questions surrounded freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge. Specifically, would she be available after having a big fall to start the second half against Charlotte on Tuesday?

Cambridge started for the Buckeyes, with a large cheering section in the Cambridge’s home town of Nashville, Tennessee. The guard didn’t miss a step, hitting her first shot of the game, a three-point attempt.

Last season, the two sides played a close first half before the Buckeyes pulled away. Sunday, it was the Bruins starting hot, going up 15-13, which caused head coach Kevin McGuff to increase the pressure.

Ohio State put their havoc press into place and slowed down Bruins shooting. The Buckeyes allowed only four shots in the last five minutes of the first quarter for Belmont, hitting one.

That was good for the Buckeyes because the visitors missed seven shots in a row to start the defensive stand. Plus, a hard fall for Cotie McMahon that sent the forward out of the game. McMahon had contact by forward Kendal Cheesman on a layup attempt.

The Buckeye hit a free throw but went to the bench favoring her leg. McMahon didn’t stay on the bench long and came back in to break up the bad shooting spell to score the last four points of the quarter. Ohio State ended the quarter up four points, even on 2-of-13 shooting in the second half of the first period.

Defense continued in the second quarter. Ohio State kept limiting shots for Belmont, and when they did take shots they were under half court pressure. The Buckeyes forced 10 first half turnovers.

Offensively, the Scarlet and Gray had a 13-point run from midway through the first Into the second quarter. Of that run, McMahon accounted for nine of the points. By halftime, McMahon already scored 15 points, eclipsing her season average of 14.0 points per game entering Sunday.

Following the Bruins scoring drought, Belmont upped their intensity. The home side forced four turnovers in just over four minutes and went on a 16-2 run to get back on top with 2:37 remaining in the half. Ohio State hit two shots to end the half to go into the locker room up four points, but the Buckeyes needed to adjust if they wanted to avoid an upset.

The second half picked ups here the first half left off, with Belmont continuing aggressive offensive play but were also aggressive in the paint defensively. With 4:51 remaining in the quarter, the Bruins put the Buckeyes in the bonus, which wasn’t necessarily a saving grace after Ohio State shot 5-of-11 from the line before hitting the bonus.

Belmont fouls and Ohio State rebounding kept the Bruins at a distance. The Buckeyes out rebounded the Bruins 20-10 on offensive boards and 36-29 overall through three quarters. It helped shooting for Ohio State that wasn’t coming from half court offense, shooting 2-of-15 in the quarter.

Even so, without shots falling, Belmont kept the game close and went ahead late in the quarter with a six-point run. Ohio State ended the quarter outscored 18-11, entering the final 10 minutes down three points.

Ohio State probably expected things to swing back in their direction, but the fourth quarter didn’t bring any relief. Following a layup by Taylor Thierry, the Bruins went on a seven-point run to extend their lead further.

Out of nowhere though, the Buckeyes found the composure to bring the game back into Ohio State’s favor. For the first time in the game, the Buckeyes hit four shots in a row, going on a 10-point run to go ahead a point with 3:00 remaining.
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