No. 11 Ohio State women surge in second half, beat Wisconsin 81-58

After a tough trip to Iowa City for No. 11 Ohio State women’s basketball, the Buckeyes returned to Columbus for the first of two home games this week. Wisconsin started the game strong, but a 29-pointgame from point guard Jaloni Cambridge was the difference in the 81-58 Ohio State victory.

First quarter

There was no surprise at how the Badgers started the game — from three-point range. Wisconsin entered Thursday with 25.5 attempts from beyond the arc per game, the most in the Big Ten so far this season. It did not look like Ohio State knew that, and the Badgers jumped ahead by hitting their first four attempted three-point shots.

Even though the two sides traded the first 10 baskets, Wisconsin’s math was better, and those three-point shots added up to a nine-point first-quarter lead. Ohio State was the exact opposite and tried one in the first 10 minutes.

Ohio State had another slow start and went into the second quarter down 23-17. Point guard Jaloni Cambridge and center Elsa Lemmilä scored 15 of those first-quarter points,

Second quarter

The Buckeyes started the second quarter without Jaloni Cambridge on the court. Ohio State’s sophomore point guard picked up two first-quarter fouls, but the Scarlet and Gray did not miss the offense she brought to the bench. Ohio State’s defense got them back into the game with the first eight points scored of the second quarter.

That flipped the six-point deficit into a two-point advantage. Wisconsin had seven turnovers for the second straight quarter and missed its first six shot attempts of the period. Only guard Destiny Howell scored points in the second quarter for the Badgers. Howell had five second-quarter points and entered halftime leading all scorers with 13 points on 3-for-3 shooting from deep.

It is not outside of the realm of possibility that a five-point quarter for Wisconsin meant that Ohio State went on a run and took a huge advantage into halftime. The only thing that stopped that from happening was the basketball going through the hoop. Ohio State missed its final nine shots of the half, and a free throw by guard Kennedy Cambridge was the lone point the Buckeyes scored in the final 4:30 of the quarter.

Third quarter

Wisconsin went back to the three-point shot in the third quarter after the Badgers only attempted three in the second quarter. Howell continued to shoot nearly perfectly with 10 of Wisconsin’s 17 points, but finally showed moments of being a human with two misses in the quarter. The Badger graduate senior still made her first five shots from deep in the game and led Wisconsin with 23 points through three quarters.

Ohio State began to pull away thanks to the play of Jaloni Cambridge. After scoring no points in the second quarter, the sophomore scored 14 points in the third quarter and 11 of the last 14 points of the quarter. Jaloni Cambridge did it mostly inside the paint, using her ability to adjust midair to get around the Wisconsin defense.

A 27-17 Ohio State third quarter gave the Buckeyes an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter

Jaloni Cambridge had a second half performance that made it clear she was not ready to have a losing streak. The sophomore started Ohio State off on a seven-point run to put the Buckeyes up 18 points. For Wisconsin, the second quarter scoring performance returned, which meant Howell was the lone point of offense. Howell made six of Wisconsin’s 11 made shots in the second half, a big reason for the turnaround from a close first half to a dominant Ohio State second.

Ohio State held the Badgers to less than 30 points in each half and forced a Big Ten season high 25 turnovers from Wisconsin.

Number of the game: 2

The No. 2 represents the number of double-doubles this season for Ohio State’s Lemmilä. While the big showed moments in the game where she can lose the ball under pressure, a shaky first quarter made way for a solid remaining three.

Lemmilä’s night ended with 14 rebounds and 14 points. The Finnish big’s boards mark a new Big Ten career high and ties her career high after the then-freshman grabbed 14 against the Ohio University Bobcats at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Key performers

Ohio State

• Jaloni Cambridge: 29 points, 5 rebounds
• Elsa Lemmilä: 14 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks

Wisconsin

• Destiny Howell: 29 points

Up Next

The Buckeyes are back at home on Sunday, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who spent the last six weeks in the AP top 25 poll before falling out this week. Ohio State has six wins in its last seven games against the Cornhuskers and enters the weekend on a four-game winning streak over Nebraska.

After three straight losses to the UCLA Bruins, Michigan State Spartans, and Wisconsin Badgers, the Cornhuskers have wins over the Illinois Fighting Illini and an 89-73 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday.