Lessons From Maryland’s Ohio State Loss
This past Sunday, Maryland (14-2, 4-2 Big Ten) fell to Ohio State (16-2, 6-1 Big Ten), 89-76.
The upset dropped the Terps four spots to No. 12 in the AP poll, while their opponent, Ohio State, moved up five spots to No. 14, in a game highlighted by the level of play required for two teams vying to be atop the Big Ten, which is arguably the deepest basketball conference in the country.
Early on, Maryland created havoc and was anchored by Oluchi Okananwa, who finished the game with 27 points and crossed the 1,000-career-point threshold in the loss.
The Terps also got a very solid showing from Yarden Garzon, who had 14 of her 19 points in the first half.
However, they seemed to lose energy after a fast start, and coach Brenda Frese stated the second quarter was “impactful” and that the team “didn’t respond well to [Ohio State’s] aggressiveness.”
Ohio State walked into the second quarter with much more composure.
They found ways to break the Maryland press and generate easy looks, making Maryland back up and play standard half-court defense to slow down some of the easy looks created by beating the press.
“They showed great character,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said of his team’s resilience after a rough first quarter.
While much of the focus was on the reigning AP Women’s Player of the Week, sophomore guard Jaloni Cambridge, the other Buckeyes found ways to step up and make shots.
As the Buckeyes spaced the floor, it opened up opportunities for Cambridge, a top-10 scorer nationally, to do what she does best.
Four Buckeyes finished the game in double figures, and Kylie Kitts had a hyper-efficient 18 points and eight rebounds to supplement Cambridge’s 28 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Despite some solid shooting from Rainey Wilson, who is slowly coming into her own as of late, the Buckeyes proved to be too much for the Terps.
This game was a true testament to the gravity Cambridge has on the floor and her trust in her teammates. Cambridge said she doesn’t “have to be the star of every show” and displayed her off-ball game en route to a key victory for Ohio State in the Big Ten standings.
What We Learned
For the Terps, we saw how a focus on making things tough for individual talent can leave open holes on the weak side of their defensive pressure.
Maryland did a strong job guarding Cambridge for most of the game, but the tide flipped when shots the Terps would normally live with from supporting Buckeyes began to fall.
It forced Maryland to play Ohio State straight up late, allowing Cambridge to see less resistance with the ball, as this reflected in her 12-point fourth quarter.
We also saw up close the impact of a banged-up Saylor Poffenbarger, as Maryland became more one-dimensional without her versatility at full strength on both ends of the floor.
Maryland now enters a crucial stretch of games, including road matchups against USC and UCLA, as well as a home contest against Iowa, that could define the team’s position later in March.
But for now, it’s one game at a time, and all eyes are on the Trojans.
