No. 19 Ohio State women flip 15-point deficit to upset No. 8 Maryland 89-76

On the final day of the 2024-25 season, March 2, 2025, Ohio State women’s basketball traveled to College Park, Maryland, to face the Maryland Terrapins. It was a classic game full of drama on the way to a 93-90 Terps victory. On Sunday, No. 19 Ohio State was back in Maryland to face the No. 8 Terrapins and point guard Jaloni Cambridge’s 28 points and nine rebounds led the Buckeyes to the 89-76 upset.

First quarter

Ohio State knew it had a tough opponent and hostile environment ahead of itself on Sunday, and immediately, the Terrapins showed what makes them such a difficult team to play. The Buckeyes were overwhelmed from the jump, especially through guard Oluchi Okananwa, who scored the first eight points for the Terrapins. Inversely, the Buckeyes went 1-of-5 to start the game, and at the first media timeout, the Terrapins already had a 14-5 lead. Rebounding-wise, Maryland’s 15.5 rebounding margin entering the game got off to a great start with a 7-4 home side advantage in the opening minutes.

Rebounding improved through the end of the quarter, and Ohio State entered the second quarter with a minus-one rebounding margin, but Maryland guard Yarden Garzon single-handedly outshot the Buckeyes from beyond the arc. The former Indiana Hoosier hit her first three shots from deep and eventually missed on her fourth attempt. Ohio State shot 2-of-8 as a team, and the Buckeyes had a 12-point deficit after 10 minutes.

Second quarter

It was hard to imagine the Buckeyes doing any worse in the second quarter after Ohio State shot 23.8% in the first quarter and head coach Kevin McGuff’s side responded. Guard Kennedy Cambridge hit two threes in a row, and the Buckeyes hit their first four shots of the quarter. That and half-court defense cut the deficit to five points, which forced a timeout from head coach Brenda Frese.

Ohio State went cold and missed the next five shots, but it did not damage the visitors as it did in the first quarter. In the cold 2:31 run, the Buckeyes began getting to the free-throw line. Guard Jaloni Cambridge hit two of her eight free throws in the quarter during the tough shooting spell, and with a three-point shot from guard Ava Watson, the 15-point deficit was down to four points.

With the trips to the free-throw line came whistles against the Terps. Okananwa helped Ohio State more than hurt them in the second quarter because once the guard picked up her second foul and went to the bench, the Buckeyes took advantage of the bench players who stepped into the game to the effect of a 15-8 Ohio State run. The duo of Okananwa and Garzon scored 28 of the Terps’ 42 first-half points. Nobody else on the Maryland roster had more than four points.

At halftime, Ohio State was down only two points, and that is because Garzon hit a midrange jumper on the final possession of the half.

Third quarter

Ohio State received a gift in the first minute and a half of the quarter when Okananwa picked up her third foul on a blocking foul at half court. The junior tried to slow Jaloni Cambridge down and took the sophomore guard to the floor. That took Okananwa off the floor, and the Buckeyes capitalized.

The Buckeyes responded with an eight-point run that gave Ohio State its first lead of the day. Redshirt freshman Kylee Kitts was six of those eight points as the forward played aggressive, but focused, offense. Kitts had eight of Ohio State’s 12 points in the first half of the quarter, and by the time Okananwa returned, the Buckeyes had a four-point lead.

With Okananwa’s return, Maryland surged, and the guard had seven free throws in the final 4:12 of the quarter. The whistles came quicker and less accurately in the period, and Ohio State’s offense did not make matters any better. Maryland went ahead late but could not make a shot from the run of play. The Terps missed their final seven shots of the quarter, while the Buckeyes hit their final three, and the Buckeyes had a two-point lead to start the final 10 minutes.

Fourth quarter

Maryland had help offensively to start the fourth quarter with guard Rainey Welson. The guard who entered Sunday with 2.8 points per game hit two shots from deep to add to a third she hit in the previous quarter. This time though, Ohio State responded to the threes.

Kitts was key again to start the quarter. The forward responded to Welson’s first made basket from deep with a corner three, Kitts’ third of the game. Maryland kept battling back but Ohio State’s shots continued to fall and the Buckeyes 8-of-10 shooting frustrated the Terrapins.

Ohio State went on a 10-point run to give the visitors a 12-point lead. Okananwa responded and hit two layups on consecutive possessions, which cut the home side’s deficit to eight points with 3:19 remaining.

The Buckeyes made the first quarter a thing of the past and shot 75% in the final 10 minutes to roll the Terrapins 89-73.

Number of the game: 39-39

This represents the rebound battle between the two sides. Maryland’s positive 15.5 rebounding margin was wiped away by Ohio State, who tied the Terps on the boards. The Buckeyes let Maryland grab rebounds early but Ohio State woke up to take away the home side’s key advantage over the visitors.

Key performers

Ohio State

• Jaloni Cambridge: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
• Kylee Kitts: 18 points, 8 rebounds
• Kennedy Cambridge: 14 points, 4 assists, 4 steals

Maryland

• Oluchi Okananwa: 27 points, 9 rebounds
• Yarden Garzon: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Up Next

Ohio State is back home for one game before heading back on the road. On Wednesday, the Penn State Nittany Lions head to the Schottenstein Center, led by guard Kiyomi McMiller and center Gracie Merkle. Despite the one-two punch of the two transfers, the Nittany Lions are 0-6 in the Big Ten and 7-10 overall. On Sunday, Penn State lost to the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Last season, the Nittany Lions went 1-17 in conference play, but that one win was an upset victory over the Buckeyes, who were without Jaloni Cambridge.

Then, in eight days, Ohio State is in Newark, New Jersey, for The Coretta Scott King Classic against All-American guard Olivia Miles and the No. 13 TCU Horned Frogs.