UCLA Beats Ohio State Women 82-75

UCLA is ranked fourth in the country. So, UCLA presented a tough challenge for the Lady Buckeyes. UCLA is now 2-0 in the Big Ten Conference, while, with the 82-75 loss, Ohio State fell to 1-1 in the conference.

Jaloni Cambridge led all scorers with 28 points, but that was not enough for the Lady Buckeyes, who were over-matched by UCLA. Lauren Betts had 18 points and 16 rebounds for UCLA in the win. Ohio State missed its first 11 three-pointers against UCLA. That did them in. Do you think three-point shooting determines the outcome of modern games?

UCLA Beats Ohio State Women 82-75

Ohio State trailed UCLA 18-16 after the first quarter and 39-33 at halftime, despite their slow start. However, this game was very close, as the No. 19 Ohio State women’s basketball team, now 11-2 overall, fell to No. 4 UCLA. UCLA is now 12-1. The first half of this game was a back-and-forth affair.

UCLA hit a long half-court buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter with a 63-56 lead. They led by as many as 16 points during the final quarter, and the Buckeyes cut their deficit to as little as six points, but UCLA held on to win by an 82-75 margin.

As far as a quarter-by-quarter summary goes, here is what happened. In the first quarter, UCLA began the game with the first seven points, but Ohio State tied the game at seven after the first four minutes. Early runs dominated. The score was tied again at 10 before a 6-0 Bruins run. The Buckeyes ended the quarter with a 6-2 run to trim their deficit to 18-16 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, UCLA scored the first five points before Jaloni Cambridge reached double figures. UCLA extended its lead to 30-20 at the midway point of the quarter. The Lady Buckeyes cut the deficit to five. The Bruins responded with a 6-0 run to push their advantage to 38-27. Ohio State again ended the quarter with a 6-2 run. The Buckeyes trailed 39-33 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Ohio State got within two at 41-39, but then the teams traded baskets, and the Bruins’ lead was 49-44 midway through the third quarter. Then, the Bruins scored six unanswered points to lead by 10 points at 57-47. Todd beat the shot clock for a three-pointer, and the Bruins notched a buzzer-beater of their own to end the third quarter with the Bruins in front 63-56.

In the fourth quarter, the Bruins opened with a 7-2 run to increase their lead to 70-58. The Bruins kept pulling away until Ohio State used nine unanswered points to cut its deficit to 78-72 with 2:05 to play. However, that was as close as the Lady Buckeyes got in the 82-75 loss.

News and Notes

• Jaloni Cambridge was the only player in the game to reach double figures in the first half with 16 points. She finished with 28 total points, which was a game high. This was her sixth twenty-point performance of the season.
• T’yana Todd scored a season-high 16 points.
• Elsa Lemmilä had thirteen points and joined Jaloni Cambridge and T’yana Todd in double figures.
• Kennedy Cambridge tied her career-high eight rebounds, but she had only five points.
• Ohio State had three double-digit scorers, but the Bruins had five.
• The Bruins outrebounded the Lady Buckeyes 47-32 in this game.
• The teams tied with sixteen rebounds. The Bruins also had 16 turnovers; Ohio State had 12.

Conclusion

Ohio State fell to 11-2 with this loss. They showed good fight against the fourth-ranked Bruins. However, the 82-75 loss also showed that the Lady Buckeyes will have difficulty competing with the top teams in the nation. They fell, with this loss, to 1-1 in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State next plays at Purdue on Wednesday. Purdue is currently 0-2 in the conference, so this is a winnable game for the Lady Buckeyes.