COLLEGE PARK — If Ohio State was going to beat Maryland on the road, the Buckeyes needed to be tough on the boards.
Even 5-foot-7 Jaloni Cambridge was ready to do her part.
Cambridge had 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to help No. 19 Ohio State top the eighth-ranked Terrapins 89-76 on Sunday. Fresh off a 41-point performance in a win over Illinois, Cambridge scored 12 in the final quarter against the Terrapins to help the Buckeyes (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) pull away. Ohio State shot 11 of 22 from 3-point range.
“I didn’t even know I had nine rebounds,” said Cambridge, who surpassed her previous career high of eight. “I’m very thankful that I was able to help my team. That’s huge for me, being one of the smallest players on the floor.”
Oluchi Okananwa scored 27 points for Maryland (16-2, 4-2) and surpassed 1,000 for her career.
The Buckeyes dug their way out of a 15-point hole in the second quarter and were within two at the half. Ohio State led by one in the fourth when a 3-pointer by Kennedy Cambridge started a 13-2 run by the Buckeyes. Jaloni Cambridge added two 3s during that stretch.
Maryland has been dominant on the boards this season, but Ohio State fought to a 39-39 draw in that department and won the turnover battle 17-11.
“They are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “We end up even on the boards. I think those were two big things — our half court defense and our rebounding. We wouldn’t have won this game a month ago. We just weren’t good enough in either one of those areas. To our players’ credit, we’ve gotten a lot better.”
It also helped that Ohio State shot 50% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 91% on free throws.
Kylee Kitts scored 18 points for Ohio State and Kennedy Cambridge added 14. Yarden Garzon contribt uted 19 for Maryland.
The Buckeyes have lost only twice this season — to UConn and UCLA, both of whom are in the top five. Ohio State still has to play at Iowa and face Maryland again, but a road win like this leaves the Buckeyes in striking distance of the top of the Big Ten.
As for Cambridge, she scored 28 points in a losing effort against UCLA last month. Now she’s shown she can lead her team past a good opponent on the road.
“Both ends of the floor,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “You just see her coast to coast, a really difficult matchup to be able to defend in the open court.”
The loss hurt Maryland’s Big Ten title hopes, with the Terps about to go on a tough road trip to play No. 21 Southern California on Thursday night and No. 4 UCLA next Sunday.
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