After 17 Big Ten regular-season games, No. 13 Ohio State women’s basketball traveled to East Lansing, Michigan on Sunday to finish up the conference schedule against the No. 15 Michigan State Spartans. On the line was not only Big Ten Tournament seeding but turning around a run of form with three losses in the last four games. After Ohio State built a 30-point lead, Michigan State battled back but a record day for the Cambridge sisters earned the Buckeyes a 87-68 victory.

First quarter

In the last five games, Ohio State went on big early runs against the Maryland Terrapins and Michigan Wolverines. Those leads hit 19 and 14 points before the opponents came back. On Sunday, the Buckeyes made those efforts look unimpressive.

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After some early misses from both sides, Ohio State had an early 4-2 lead before the Scarlet and Gray rattled off an 11-point run. The final three shots of that run came from beyond the arc. Guard Ava Watson hit two from the left wing, after point guard Jaloni Cambridge started the three consecutive makes from deep.

During the run, guard Kennedy Cambridge broke the single-season steals record with two steals in the first quarter, adding to the new record from Sunday through the end of the postseason, whenever that may be.

The Buckeyes held the Spartans to 2-for-14 shooting from the field, and took eight more shots than the home side due to an early 18-6 rebounding advantage for head coach Kevin McGuff’s side. In those 18 early rebounds were seven on the offensive boards, with two from the 5-foot-8 Watson.

Ohio State came ready to play with the intensity needed to compete on the boards and in the half-court defense. So much so that Michigan State scored only nine points in the first 10 minutes, tied for the fewest in any quarter this season for Sparty.

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A quick reminder on those big, early leads against Maryland and Michigan — Ohio State lost both games.

Second quarter

The start of the second quarter looked a lot like the first. Ohio State made seven of its first 10 shots in the quarter and went on an early 15-point run. Guard Chance Gray, who missed both deep attempts in the first quarter, hit three attempts in a row from deep in the second, and the final make put the Buckeyes up 30 points with 1:13 left in the half.

It looked like the Buckeyes were ready to coast their way to another strong quarter, but Michigan State began to show life. With Jaloni Cambridge on the bench with two fouls, and increased intensity in the press from Sparty, Michigan State took all of the momentum away from Ohio State in the final 1:01 of the quarter.

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Michigan State went on its first run of more than three points with the last seven points of the half. In the blink of an eye, the Buckeyes’ lead went down to 23 points. Still an impressive gap, but a run that might have caused some flashbacks in the team’s mind.

Third quarter

Jaloni Cambridge came out of the locker room and tried to get her offense established to try to slow the Spartans down. The sophomore made her first shot, missed her next two, and Michigan State’s chaotic defense hit another level. Michigan State went on a seven-point run, and then a play between Kennedy Cambridge and Michigan State guard Kennedy Blair gave the Buckeyes a free timeout.

Kennedy Cambridge lost the handle of the basketball, and Kennedy Blair grabbed the ball with Cambridge going after it herself. Blair had possession, but in the process, Cambridge grabbed the sophomore’s arm. Blair was already nearly on the ground, but she completely went to her knees after the play. Referees reviewed the call to see if it should be upgraded. Ultimately, it came back as a common foul, but after that break, Ohio State broke the Spartans’ press better than they did in the previous four game minutes.

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Ohio State came out of that mini break with a pair of three-point shots from Jaloni Cambridge. Michigan State scored five themselves, but the turnovers that plagued Ohio State to that point, with six turnovers in six minutes running from the second quarter to the third.

The Buckeyes increased their lead back to 20 points, but Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick made a quick adjustment out of the press and into half-court offense. It worked, and Ohio State’s scoring slowed, and the visitors did not score in the final 3:34 of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter

Michigan State had a 14-point deficit to start the quarter, which was a feat considering the 30-point deficit in the first half. Even so, Ohio State came into the final quarter poised to withstand what the Spartans gave it.

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McGuff’s side got it through drawing down the shot clock and hitting three-point shots. Jaloni Cambridge hit her seventh of the day, a personal best in NCAA play, followed by a sixth from Gray. Elsa Lemmilä joined the three-point fun, although she did it from a layup and free throw after the Spartans fouled the 6-foot-6 Finnish big.

Halfway through the quarter, the Buckeyes’ lead was back up to 21 points while the Spartans looked defeated. Coach Fralick turned the full court press back on with less than five minutes remaining, but Ohio State looked unbothered on its way to victory.

Gray hit a three-point shot to put the lead up to 23 points, which added a second program record broken in the game. That deep shot was the Buckeyes’ 18th in the game, which eclipsed a pair of games against the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2010 and 2026 that ended with 17 three-point shots made.

Number of the Game: 120

That is the new Ohio State single-season steals record, set by Kennedy Cambridge. The 41-year record fell after the redshirt junior tied Yvette Angel’s 115 steals in the 84-85 season in the last game against the Michigan Wolverines.

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With the 120 steals this season, Kennedy Cambridge moves to No. 4 all-time in the Big Ten for steals in a season, shared with former Purdue guard Kelly Komara, who hit the mark in the 01-02 season. The single-season record in the conference is likely out of reach for Cambridge. In the 15-16 season, guard Ashley Deary stole the ball 141 times.

Key performers

Ohio State

• Jaloni Cambridge: 34 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

• Kennedy Cambridge: 10 points, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, 5 steals

• Elsa Lemmilä: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks

• Chance Gray: 21 points, 3 assists

Michigan State

• Grace VanSlooten: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks

• Rashunda Jones: 16 points

Up Next

The regular season is now in the books. Ohio State now waits to see the result of the Minnesota Golden Gophers against the Illinois Fighting Illini. If the Golden Gophers fall, the Buckeyes move into the final top-4 seed, which earns McGuff’s side a double-bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.