No. 12 Buckeyes Survive Late Scare From Belmont Bruins

Kevin McGuff will likely need to hit the drawing board to examine shooting and defense in Nashville Sunday.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Kevin McGuff motions during the first half of the NCAA women's basketball game against the Charlotte 49ers at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

March almost came early for the Buckeyes.

Due to a late run from Ohio State, finishing 6-for-8 from the field, the Buckeyes (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) won a down-to-the-wire matchup against the Belmont Bruins (2-2, 0-0 Missouri Valley), 67-63.

The Buckeyes did not look like the Buckeyes right off the bat. Despite the usual full-court man press working, Ohio State couldn’t get shots to fall outside of their points off turnovers.

Kevin McGuff’s squad struggled to finish in the paint, missing several wide open and/or transition layups. It seemed as though the Bruins were dominating on the offensive boards and were drawing fouls much more frequently; however, the Buckeyes led in points off turnovers, offensive rebounds and points in the paint.

Junior forward Cotie McMahon seemed to be the only light on offense for Ohio State, scoring 17 in the first half.

The Buckeye bigs struggled to maintain discipline and played sloppy ball themselves, contributing four fouls and two turnovers in the process. However, graduate transfer Ajae Petty picked up eight big-time rebounds to help on the glass.

At one point in the second, Belmont went on a 16-2 run behind a solid all-around effort on both ends of the floor. The Bruins forced five Buckeye turnovers and shot 4-for-10 from downtown.

Freshman Jaloni Cambridge, who has been sound on both ends, struggled to control the ball in the first, contributing just five points and four assists to go along with four turnovers. The Bruins only had two fastbreak points but managed to be open on walk-up 3-pointers on several occasions, including two from graduate guard Kendall Holmes.

Ohio State held a four-point lead at the half.

The Buckeyes still struggled to score coming out of the locker room. On one possession, they had four offensive rebounds and only came up with points after drawing a foul and hitting their free throws.

Fortunately for McGuff, Belmont sophomore guard Jailyn Banks — who truly dominated on both ends of the floor before going to the bench — picked up her fourth foul midway through the third. Senior forward Kendal Cheesman had four as well.

Ohio State Buckeyes forward Cotie McMahon (32) shoots around Charlotte 49ers forward Aanaya Harris (24) during the first half of the NCAA women's basketball game at Value City Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For a team that was tremendous in the third quarter last season due to instant offense from their press, the Buckeyes couldn’t buy a bucket nor get any stops. Similar to their poor end to the first, they made just one of their last 14 shots to end the third — shooting 29 percent on the game — and trailed by three.

Belmont added to their lead after poor hedge-and-recover defense from the Buckeye bigs. McGuff subbed Petty out with just over six minutes remaining in favor of freshman Elsa Lemmilä, who had four fouls at that point.

The Buckeyes’ were in a ‘pick your poison’ situation late in the fourth quarter: Cambridge didn’t have a field goal after the first quarter until drawing an and-1 with under 15 seconds remaining and the Buckeyes as a team shot 50 percent from the charity stripe.

But it was far from over the Buckeyes; the ‘come-back kids,’ as they seemed to be known for their fierce comebacks last season, took the lead back just under three minutes remaining after trailing by as many as nine in the fourth.

The offense came alive for Ohio State in the last five minutes, with seniors Chance Gray and Taylor Thierry, along with McMahon, coming up big in crunchtime. Gray hit a nifty between-the-legs crossover and found Kennedy Cambridge in the corner for a 3-pointer; on the next possession, Jaloni Cambridge took a charge to spark the Buckeyes’ bench.

Holmes hit two free throws late to end Ohio State’s 13-0 run and cut the lead to two. She would finish with a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Emily La Chapell added another 13 and tied the game with just over 30 seconds left.

Jaloni Cambridge came alive for the final bucket of the game, picking up an and-1 to put the Buckeyes up three. Holmes came down the other way, attempted to make space and instead picked up a push-off foul to end the game.

Despite shooting 34-35-52 splits, Ohio State came out with a four-point victory behind 21 points from McMahon, who played every minute of the game.

The Buckeyes return to the state of Ohio for an intrastate matchup with Ohio University Wednesday at 7 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.