Ohio State women’s basketball lost to Maryland on Sunday despite leading by as many as 19 points in the first half.
After a dominant first half against the 20th-ranked Terrapins, Ohio State allowed Maryland to take control of the game in the second half. Still with several chances to win or tie the game in the final seconds, the No. 8 Buckeyes came up short on all of them, falling 76-75 for their first loss of the season against a team not ranked in the top 10.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #20 MARYLAND | 15 | 16 | 26 | 19 | 76 |
| #8 OHIO STATE | 28 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 75 |
Ohio State looked as though it could roll to a dominant victory in the early stages of the game. The Buckeyes outscored Maryland 18-3 in the first five minutes to race out to a 15-point lead. After Maryland went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to five, Ohio State ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run that included a buzzer-beater three from Jaloni Cambridge to finish the first period with a 28-15 lead.
JALONI BEATS THE BUZZER
Ohio State Womens Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) February 15, 2026
FS1 pic.twitter.com/NKjmgNTOHF
The Buckeyes led by at least 13 points for the entire second quarter, ultimately taking a 46-31 lead into halftime. But everything changed in the second half.
Maryland scored 23 of the first 32 points in the third quarter to cut Ohio State’s lead to one. Ohio State took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, but Maryland started the final period on a 12-0 run to take a nine-point lead.
Ohio State battled to get back within two points, but Kennedy Cambridge missed a pair of free throws with a chance to tie the game and 28.2 seconds to play. The Buckeyes got another chance after Maryland was unable to inbound the ball off of a timeout, but Kylee Kitts went just 1-for-2 from the free-throw line after she was fouled by Saylor Poffenbarger. Kennedy Cambridge missed what would have been a go-ahead layup after rebounding Kitts’ missed free throw.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | POINTS | 76 |
| 27-59 (45.8%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 25-70 (35.7%) |
| 11-21 (52.4%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 12-35 (34.3%) |
| 10-16 (62.5%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 14-20 (70.0%) |
| 34 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 47 |
| 8 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 22 |
| 26 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 3 | BENCH POINTS | 14 |
| 15 | ASSISTS | 18 |
| 18 | TURNOVERS | 18 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 7 | STEALS | 11 |
Ohio State got one more chance to win the game after Kyndal Walker missed a pair of free throws, but Jaloni Cambridge’s last-second attempt at a long-range game-winner was no good.
Jaloni Cambridge and Chance Gray each had productive games for the Buckeyes, as Cambridge scored 29 and Gray scored 25, but the rest of Ohio State’s team combined for only 21 points. Maryland also dominated the glass, outrebounding Ohio State 47-34.
With Sunday’s loss, Ohio State – which was ranked as the nation’s ninth-best team in the NCAA selection committee’s first top-16 reveal of the year on Saturday – is now 4-4 this season against ranked opponents. The Buckeyes beat Maryland (ranked No. 8 at the time) on the road in January and also have wins over No. 10 TCU, No. 21 West Virginia and No. 24 Washington, but have lost to No. 1 UConn, No. 4 UCLA, No. 8 Iowa and now No. 20 Maryland.
The Buckeyes, who are now 22-4 overall and 11-3 in Big Ten play, will look to bounce back from Sunday’s setback as they hit the road to face Minnesota on Wednesday (8 p.m., B1G+).
