Ohio State women’s basketball features two dynamic stars who bring speed and creativity inside the paint. Freshman point guard Jaloni Cambridge is arguably one of the fastest players in the country and she uses speed to break through defenses to hit layups with frequency. Junior forward Cotie McMahon has the speed of a guard but the size of a forward, a combination that makes teams struggle.
The two offensive stars for head coach Kevin McGuff have been crucial this season. Cambridge and McMahon have taken over games and pushed the Buckeyes to wins in games where the rest of the team was not as productive offensively.
For Ohio State to move on in the NCAA Tournament, that will not be enough on Sunday night against the Tennessee Volunteers. On Friday, the Buckeyes showed that passing and finding teammates is the key to making the Ohio State offense click./cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72924441/usa_today_19390557.0.jpg)
In the second quarter, the Scarlet and Gray did not move the ball well, with only one assist in the first 7:13 minutes of the period. Combine this with a period of calls against the Buckeyes, including a technical foul assessed to McGuff for his frustration boiling over because of those calls, and the No. 13-seeded Montana State Bobcats had a four-point lead.
Ohio State responded with turnovers and fast-break baskets to go on a nine-point run, erasing the Bobcats’ lead. The mid-major side did not come back in the game because, following a halftime locker room talk by McGuff, the Buckeyes refocused their attention on their passing game, and the First-Round contest broke wide open for Ohio State.
“What we mostly talked about is making the extra pass,” McGuff said. “Because I thought we were getting great opportunities but taking tougher shots than we needed to.”
In the third quarter, five of Ohio State’s first six baskets came off an assist. With McMahon and Cambridge on the floor, and taking up attention on defense, the pair went from offensive attackers to expert passers.
