Jaloni Cambridge sparks Ohio State’s runaway win over Howard in 1st round of women's NCAA Tournament

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 21 points and third-seeded Ohio State rolled to a 75-54 victory over 14th-seeded Howard on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The sophomore point guard and second-team AP All-American scored six points during an 18-1 run in the first half. She had 10 points and three steals in the second quarter as Ohio State built a 24-point lead at halftime.

“I thought we had a really good stretch there where our intensity in the full court was really disrupting them. We married that with the half court and we had something going there,” coach Kevin McGuff said.

Kennedy Cambridge, Chance Gray and Ava Watson had 11 points apiece for the Buckeyes (27-7), who will face sixth-seeded Notre Dame (23-10) for a chance to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2023.

Zennia Thomas led Howard with 15 points and Ariella Henigan added 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Bison end the season 26-8 after making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance.

The first eight minutes saw five ties and five lead changes before Ohio State took control. Howard had a 14-12 advantage on a pair of free throws by Dallyssha Moreno before the Buckeyes went on their run.

Gray started the spurt with two straight 3-pointers, but a big key was the defense. The Buckeyes forced five turnovers and had 10 points in the paint during the run.

“I think that we were more aggressive in the second quarter, and throughout the game I think we lost that intensity and I don’t think we really found it again," Kennedy Cambridge said.

The Buckeyes held the Bison without a field goal for nearly 13 minutes during the first half and forced 14 turnovers that resulted in 18 points as they held a 41-17 advantage at halftime.

“We’ve seen a press and we go against it. I think we kind of lost our composure,” Howard coach Ty Grace said. “People say I could have called timeouts. I haven’t called timeouts all year, even when we’ve been pressed. But my team knows what to do, and I have to trust them and I have to trust that they’re going to make good decisions. When they don’t, I have to live with that because I didn’t call a timeout.”

Ohio State's largest advantage was 62-32 late in the third quarter.

McGuff picked up a technical in an NCAA first-round game for the second straight year. This one came midway through the third quarter after Ohio State had been whistled for six fouls in the first 5 minutes of the second half.

“Personally, I love the tech he got today. He was fighting for his players, and the way that he went out there,” Kennedy Cambridge said. “My teammates were actually telling me to stop clapping, but I love a coach that’s going to fight for me. We weren’t getting the calls that we wanted, but that made me want to go harder for him.”

“I think we had some really good stretches today, but I think we’ll have to sustain that for longer stretches on Monday regardless of the opponent if we’re going to be successful,” McGuff said.

This will be the first time since 2017 the Buckeyes have faced the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame won that game 99-76 in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Kentucky. Notre Dame has a 4-1 edge in the all-time series, but hasn't faced the Buckeyes in Columbus since 1997.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness