A month ago, Ohio State traveled to College Park and picked up a win over the then-No. 8 Maryland.
Since then, Ohio State has cracked the AP top 10 and is ranked ninth in the Women’s Basketball Committee’s midseason top 16, which was released Saturday — a level many didn’t expect for the unranked Buckeyes entering the season.
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However, Maryland beat Ohio State 76-75 on Sunday, fighting back from a 19-point first-half deficit to claim a win and set the stage for a resumption of rebuilding.
The Terrapins lost their first game to Ohio State on Jan. 11, starting a rough stretch in which they lost four of their next five games. Since beating the Buckeyes on Sunday, they have won four straight, including two road wins against ranked teams, and they have turned things around.
Maryland had a strong game led by leading scorers Oluchi Okananwa and Yarden Garzon, who each had 17 points, but it was the second-half defensive effort that allowed Brenda Frese’s Terrapins to come back from a 19-point first-half deficit.
For Maryland, the No. 4 seed in the midseason tournament as announced by the committee, the win was a big boost to its NCAA Tournament resumption, with Purdue, Northwestern and the regular-season finale against No. 7 Michigan still on the schedule.
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It also adds to the logjam in the Big Ten Conference. While UCLA currently sits at 24-1, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa are all ranked in the top 20 and vying to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
The Buckeyes have now lost four games, all to ranked teams, and face a tough stretch to end the season, including games against Michigan State and at home against Michigan. After being outrebounded by Maryland 47-34, they had to find a way to make up for their rebounding woes and find someone other than star guard Jaloni Cambridge to score, especially late in the game.
Cambridge led all scorers with 29 points in the game and scored 14 in the second half. Although Chance Gray scored 25 points, Cambridge was the only player to score more than six points in the second half.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Maryland Terrapins, Ohio State Buckeyes, Women’s College Basketball, College Sports
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