Sophomore Jaloni Cambridge goes for a layup against a Minnesota defender in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal. Credit | Ohio State Athletics
Sixteen days after a grueling 74-61 defeat to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Buckeyes knew it would take one of their best defensive performances of the season to flip the result.
Forcing a Minnesota season-high 21 turnovers proved to be the difference.
In a defensive battle, the 5-seed Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the 4-seed Minnesota Golden Gophers 60-55 Friday in Indianapolis, advancing to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
“They just kind of kicked it at us when we played them last time, so we knew that we had to come out here and give it all that we had,” guard Jaloni Cambridge said.
Coming into the game, the Golden Gophers ranked third nationally with only 10.6 turnovers per game, also ranking in the top five in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Spearheaded by the efforts of recently named All-Big Ten Defensive First Team member Kennedy Cambridge and her six steals, Ohio State’s defense did enough to keep the Golden Gophers uncomfortable throughout the game.
“I thought we were a little more effective with our full-court pressure, but I also thought in the half-court our guards were really pesky today,” head coach Kevin McGuff said.
Early on, however, the Golden Gophers had their way around the Buckeyes’ rim.
Within the first five minutes, Sophie Hart had scored six of Minnesota’s 11 points while grabbing three rebounds, serving as a steady source of scoring to keep the Golden Gophers ahead in the opening period.
Minnesota’s 16 points inside the paint left Ohio State down 18-16 after the first quarter.
The Buckeyes’ spark of life came in the form of Jaloni Cambridge, who dropped 10 points in the second quarter alone to give Ohio State a 32-28 edge at halftime.
The sophomore tied for the team-high in scoring with 17 points on 8-for-20 shooting, also contributing five rebounds, six assists and three steals in an all-around effort.
“Jaloni did a great job of drawing a lot of attention and sharing the ball,” McGuff said.
With 1:58 left in the third quarter, Grace Grocholski made Minnesota’s first 3-point shot of the game, bringing the game within five points at 44-39.
As the Gophers started to heat up from the perimeter, they worked themselves into only a two-point deficit. Yet scoring from Ava Watson and Kennedy Cambridge kept the Buckeyes ahead 47-42 at the end of the third.
Ohio State started slow in the fourth, allowing Grocholski and Hart to pull Minnesota within three points, down 52-49. Elsa Lemmil? responded with back-to-back layups to keep some distance between the teams.
Mara Braun hit a 3-pointer to pull Minnesota within three points, down 58-55. Both teams had empty possessions, setting up one final chance for the Buckeyes to extend the lead.
With the shot clock dwindling, a drive from Cambridge with 16.6 seconds left resulted in a left-handed layup that served as the insurance bucket to give Ohio State the win.
The Buckeyes will shift their focus to the 1-seeded UCLA Bruins on Saturday with an opportunity to make it back to the Big Ten championship for the first time since 2023.
