Third Quarter Run Powers No. 12 Ohio State To 74-66 Win Over No. 8 Maryland

After its first loss of the season, Ohio State (18-1, 7-1) mounted a second-half comeback to come up with a 74-66 win over Maryland (16-3, 6-2 Big Ten) on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes’ poor first half started in the very first minute of their first game of the season against a top-10 opponent. Ohio State made just one of its first 5 shots to fall behind 9-2 after the first 4:01 of the game.

A timeout by head coach Kevin McGuff did little to stifle the Terrapins’ offensive rhythm. Maryland scored eight points in a 2:14 span out of the timeout and grabbed an 18-8 lead.

The Buckeyes didn’t heat up to end the first quarter and the deficit remained at 10 heading into the second quarter.

The Terrapins were equally impressive offensively in the second quarter. Two three-point jumpers from guards Kaylene Smikle and Sarah Te-Biasu helped Maryland start the quarter on a 7-2 spurt and take a 29-14 lead.

The Buckeyes’ defense tightened up to only allow one field goal over the last 8:15 of the first half. Despite some of their own shooting woes, the Buckeyes’ lockdown defense helped them create a 13-5 scoring run to end the half and make the score 34-27.

Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge helped the Buckeyes break out of their slump with four points in the first minute of the second half.

After receiving very little playing time in the first half, Ajae Petty scored six points early in the second half. It wasn’t the Buckeyes’ offense, that was the problem in the first four minutes though. Defensively, the Buckeyes allowed 16 points in the first 4:10 of the half, which was more than they allowed in the entirety of the second quarter.

A timeout from McGuff at the 5:50 mark seemed to give the Buckeyes a spark. After junior forward Cotie McMahon grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup on one end, the Buckeyes scored four quick points off of back-to-back Terrapin turnovers. The Buckeyes’ defensive intensity didn’t end after a stoppage in play. A couple of consecutive stops combined with a layup from redshirt sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge made it a one-score game.

A steal by Cotie McMahon gave the Buckeyes a chance to tie or take the lead, and after a nice pass from her sister Jaloni, Kennedy Cambridge knocked down a three-point jumper to give her team a 51-50 lead.

The Buckeyes capped what ended up as a 15-0 scoring run with free throws from Thierry and a layup from Cambridge to make the score 55-50.

Maryland cut into its first deficit of the game slightly in the last two minutes of the third quarter, but still trailed 57-54 heading into the final frame.

Ohio State picked up where it left off from a dominant third quarter and scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, four of which came on the fast break.

Maryland held Ohio State scoreless over a 2:19 period to cut Ohio State’s lead to six with 3:00, but McMahon and Jaloni Cambridge both made three straight clutch buckets to preserve the win.

In her first game back from illness, Jaloni Cambridge was Ohio State’s leading scorer with 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting and was her team’s leading rebounder with eight. Kennedy Cambridge scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and dished out a team-high four assists.

After the rocky first half, the Buckeyes shot a respectable 27-of-67 from the field (40.3 percent) and held Maryland to a 20-56 shooting night (35.7 percent).

Smikle had a solid day for Maryland in the losing effort, she scored 17 points, while making 5-of-13 field goals.