Ohio State Comes Back from 15-Point Deficit to Defeat No. 8 Maryland, 74-66, for First Top-10 Win of Season

After suffering its first loss of the season at Penn State on Sunday, Ohio State women’s basketball bounced back to win its first top-10 game of the year, defeating No. 8 Maryland, 74-66, to improve to 18-1 on the season.

The Buckeyes trailed for the entire first half, falling behind by as many as 15 points, but stormed back in the second half to take down the Terrapins for their biggest win of the season to date.

Four Ohio State players scored in double figures as Jaloni Cambridge led the Buckeyes with 20, Cotie McMahon scored 14, Taylor Thierry scored 13 and Kennedy Cambridge scored a career-high 12 points.

Maryland raced out to a 22-12 lead in the first 10 minutes as Ohio State shot just 5-of-18 from the field in the first quarter, missing all seven of its first-quarter 3-point shots. The Terrapins also outrebounded the Buckeyes in the first frame, 17-6.

Maryland extended that lead to 15 points early in the second quarter. But even though the Buckeyes continued to struggle with their shots for most of the second quarter, finishing the first half with a field goal percentage of just 22.9% (8-of-35), Ohio State was able to trim Maryland’s lead to seven by halftime as it forced 13 first-half turnovers while losing only three.

The turning point in the game came with just over five minutes to play in the third quarter, when Ohio State followed up a pair of free throws by McMahon with back-to-back steals and fast-break layups. Thierry stole the ball off an inbounds and scored two points herself, then Kennedy Cambridge stole another inbounds pass and passed to McMahon for another quick two. That sequence started a 15-0 run for the Buckeyes in which they turned a 50-40 deficit into a 55-50 lead, ultimately finishing the third quarter with a 57-54 advantage.

Ohio State started the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead and remained in control for the rest of the game, ultimately winning the game by eight.

Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff credited his team’s second-half comeback to playing better defense, doing a better job of rebounding – the Buckeyes were only outrebounded by one (18-17) in the second half after losing the first-half rebounding battle by 13 (30-17) – and converting turnovers into points, as Ohio State scored 20 points off of Maryland’s 17 turnovers. He also thought the Buckeyes fed off the energy they received from the 7,082 fans in attendance inside the Schottenstein Center.

“I'd like to know why we get behind ... but I think that we have a style in terms of our pace, where we can score quickly. We can also press and turn people over, and I think that gives us a chance even if we get behind,” McGuff said after the game. “I also thought tonight one thing that was really critical was the crowd. In the third and fourth quarters, when we would go on a run, the crowd was just absolutely outstanding.”

Ohio State improved to 7-1 in Big Ten play for the season with the win and now sits in sole possession of third place in the conference behind USC and UCLA, who are both unbeaten in conference play. The Buckeyes are now 3-0 against ranked opponents this season, defeating Illinois and Michigan in its two previous games against ranked teams.

The Buckeyes will face a team currently ranked just outside of the top 25 in the AP poll in its next game on Sunday, when Ohio State plays Nebraska on the road. The game tips off at 3 p.m. and will be televised by Big Ten Network.