Ohio State women’s basketball opened its 2026-7 Season with a game against a cupcake at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They jumped out to an early lead and were never really challenged. The Lady Buckeyes were mostly a year older and were filled with optimism as they began this season.
It was not just the Ohio State Women’s basketball team that started today. Number one-ranked South Carolina defeated Maryland (a team also ranked in the top twenty-five). Also in Paris, there was a mild upset as Oklahoma beat North Carolina. Most of the teams played today. Yesterday, Notre Dame, both men and women, beat Villanova in Rome. Pope Leo was there. Do you think he was upset with the outcome?
Ohio State Women’s Basketball Beats University of Illinois at Chicago
The Lady Buckeyes began their 2026-2027 season with a resounding win over an overmatched University of Illinois at Chicago team. The Ohio State Women’s Basketball team jumped out to a big first-half lead and then cruised to victory. Here is how this game played out.
First Half
At the end of the first quarter, the Ohio State women’s basketball team jumped out to a 27-7 first-quarter lead. When Julia Coleman hit a jump shot with 5:33 to go in the opening quarter, the game was tied 7-7. The Lady Buckeyes then rattled off twenty consecutive points. The scoring during that run was equally distributed among the team, but Jaloni Canbrige scored the first four points for the Lady Buckeyes.
In the second quarter, the Ohio State women’s basketball team outscored the University of Illinois at Chicago 23-6. This was good for a 50-13 lead at halftime. In the second quarter, the University of Illinois at Chicago shot just 18.8% from the field and made no three-pointers. The University of Illinois at Chicago did not attempt a free throw. The Lady Buckeyes also dominated in the paint, with a 20-8 advantage in rebounds and a three-to-one advantage in blocked shots.
Second Half
The Lady Buckeyes continued to pull away in the second half. This game was like an exhibition game. The Ohio State Women’s Basketball team pulled away from the start of the second half.
Third Quarter
The third quarter was actually a bit more competitive than the game was in the first half. The Flames, which is what the University of Illinois at Chicago is called, were plucky and showed so much fight, even though the game was already out of hand. In the third quarter, the Lady Buckeyes only outscored their opponents 18-16. They led 68-29 after three quarters.
In the third quarter, being so close, you might expect that the statistics showed a much closer game. That was the case. Ohio State was outshot 40 to 33 percent. The Lady Buckeyes had a narrow 15-to-9 rebounding advantage and two more assists and two more blocks than the University of Illinois at Chicago. This was a worrying sign for the Ohio State Women’s Basketball team, which needs to continue to pull away from weak opponents if they are to be competitive with the best teams in the country.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter was a bit different, as the Lady Buckeyes scored the first nine points. Ohio State outscored the University of Chicago at Illinois 13 to 5. They won this game 81 to 34. It was a convincing victory, but the gap in the first half was bigger than the gap in the second half. It was good that the Lady Buckeyes extended their lead in this quarter
Ohio State Women’s Basketball Nominated For Preseason Awards
There are some big awards on the line for the Lady Buckeyes. Most of them were on the watch list for superstar Jaloni Canbridge, but she was not the only one. Here are the awards for which they are being considered.
Elsa Lemmila was named to the preseason Lisa Leslie Center of the Year award. Jaloni Cambridge was named to the preseason watch list for both the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Player of the Year award and the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award.
Conclusion: A Good Start
This game was a good, not great, start for the Lady Buckeyes. They were led in scoring by Jaloni Cambridge, as they were so often last season. The University of Illinois at Chicago was led in scoring by Julia Coleman. The Lady Buckeyes next host Central Michigan on Thursday. The University of Illinois at Chicago next travels to Robert Morris on Thursday.
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