After a tightly contested matchup with Belmont in its previous game, Ohio State had no issues dealing with Ohio in a 106-42 road win.
Good ball movement and lockdown defense allowed Ohio State to score the first nine points of the game, including a 3-point jump shot from fifth-year guard Taylor Theirry on the team’s second possession of the game.
A timeout from Ohio head coach Bob Boldon didn’t stop the Buckeyes from executing. With the help of their full-court press, the Buckeyes forced three straight steals and scored the next six points.
Replacing Ohio State star forward Cotie McMahon in the starting lineup, junior guard Kennedy Cambridge forced a steal before finding her sister, true freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge for a layup on the other end.
The Bobcats finally got on the board with 4:52 to go in the first quarter with a 3-point jumper from sophomore guard Bailey Tabeling but not before the Buckeyes scored the first 17 points of the game.
Immediately after Ohio’s first score, Cambridge sprinted down the court to connect on her fifth basket of the game.
The Bobcats found their footing some with a pair of made 3-point shots but the Buckeyes responded with a couple of their own from Thierry and point guard Madison Greene.
Up 15 heading into the second quarter, the Buckeyes rolled out all but one of their starters and went on a 9-2 scoring run to take a 36-14 lead with 7:45 to go.
Thierry helped balloon the Buckeye lead to 41-14 after an Ohio timeout making her third 3-pointer of the game.
Even while getting some minutes to backup players, the Buckeyes continued a dominant second quarter. Freshman center Elsa Lemmila made a basket while being fouled and subsequently tacked on a free throw after coming down with an offensive rebound.
Unstoppable on the offensive glass, Lemmila scored six more points to help the Buckeyes take a 59-19 lead into halftime.
The Buckeyes forced 15 turnovers and allowed only three field goals in a second quarter that they won 32-7.
With a 40-point lead, the Buckeyes continued to rotate younger players in the game. The youth on the court didn’t prevent Ohio State from expanding its lead to 78-28 with 4:55 to go in the third quarter.
Lemmila’s efficiency only continued the rest of the way in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes took a 90-38 lead into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw the Buckeyes give almost every minute to players off the bench. Freshman guard Ava Watson’s eight points, highlighted another positive quarter as the team wrapped up the 106-42 victory.
Ohio State was led by Lemmila for the first time this season. Lemmila finished the game with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting. In 18 minutes played, Cambridge was the second-leading scorer with 19 points.
As a team, the Buckeyes shot 43-of-89 from the field for a field goal percentage of 48.3. Defensively, Ohio State held the Bobcats to 12-of-47 shooting from the field for a percentage of 25.5.
Emma Barnett and Tabeling led the Bobcats with 9 points.
