Ohio State women’s basketball made easy work of its first opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 3 seed Buckeyes blew out No. 14 seed Howard, 75-54, to advance to the second round of March Madness.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #14 HOWARD | 15 | 4 | 17 | 18 | 54 |
| #3 OHIO STATE | 20 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 75 |
A dominant second quarter, in which Ohio State outscored Howard 23-4, propelled the Buckeyes to victory. Jaloni Cambridge led Ohio State with 21 points. Chance Gray, Kennedy Cambridge and Ava Watson each added 11 points, while Elsa Lemmilä grabbed 11 rebounds.
Ohio State has now won a first-round NCAA Tournament game in five straight seasons.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | HOWARD |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | POINTS | 54 |
| 27-60 (45%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 19-56 (33.9%) |
| 9-24 (33.3%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 0-9 (0%) |
| 12-14 (85.7%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 16-26 (61.5%) |
| 33 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 38 |
| 7 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 13 |
| 26 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 25 |
| 18 | BENCH POINTS | 10 |
| 14 | ASSISTS | 3 |
| 14 | TURNOVERS | 17 |
| 7 | BLOCKS | 1 |
| 9 | STEALS | 4 |
The game was competitive for a quarter, with Howard taking the lead several times in the first frame. But Ohio State finished the quarter on an 8-1 run to pull ahead 20-15, then started the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 15-point lead. The Buckeyes turned that lead into a 24-point advantage of 43-19 by halftime as Ohio State allowed Howard to score just four points in the entire second quarter. The Buckeyes coasted to a comfortable win from there.
“I think we had some really good stretches today, but I think we'll have to sustain that for longer stretches on Monday,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said after the game.
Ohio State now awaits the winner of Saturday’s second game at the Schottenstein Center between No. 6 seed Notre Dame and No. 11 Fairfield. The Buckeyes are looking for their first second-round win since 2023 after losing in Round 2 of each of the last two NCAA Tournaments.
“We need a really good day-and-a-half of preparation, and then we've got to show up on Monday and be the best version of ourselves,” McGuff said when asked what the Buckeyes need to do to overcome the second-round hurdle this year.
Tip time and TV network for Monday’s game at the Schottenstein Center will be announced after the conclusion of all of Saturday’s games.
Game Notes
- Ohio State is now 37-29 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
- Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti was in attendance to support Ohio State.
- All 11 of Ohio State’s players saw playing time as all five Buckeye starters came out of the game before the end of the fourth quarter.
- McGuff picked up a technical foul in the third quarter while arguing a foul call against Kylee Kitts. Kennedy Cambridge said after the game that she loved that McGuff picked up a technical, appreciating the way he fights for his players. “That made me want to go harder,” McGuff said.
