The No. 19 Ohio State women’s basketball team plays its fourth straight game against a mid-major conference opponent on Monday night. It ends at least the 2025 nonconference schedule, which leaves one game remaining in January in Newark, N.J., against No. 8 TCU.
A month into basketball season feels like a lifetime, and the last month has felt more like the movie Groundhog Day. Every game against an unranked team outside of the top teams (all with losing records) was played at the Schottenstein Center and ended with Ohio State’s starters on the bench and an average winning margin of 34.8 points.
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Monday night, however, was different. The Buckeyes’ 95-47 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos was a dress rehearsal of sorts for Big Ten Conference play.
“We want to be closer to what it could be,” head coach Kevin McGough told reporters. “Going forward, at least for now, that’s probably what the rotation is going to be.”
McGough used just eight of 11 players in the first half against a MAC program. Compared to the first three games, especially in the paint. After Ohio State started the season with forward Kylee Kitts and center Elsa Lemmilä in the starting lineup, the 6-foot-6 center missed Lemmilä’s fourth game of the season against the Kent State Flashes due to injury and a timid performance.
It was just one absence, but McGough relegated the big man to the bench for the next seven games, and Monday was no different. The difference is that the rehearsal between Lemira and redshirt freshman forward Ella Hobbs is over. Lemira came off the bench as the Buckeyes’ sixth player, replacing Keatts.
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Then, after a few minutes of rest, Kitts returned but did not replace Lemira. Instead, the two returned to the court for the final 3 minutes and 12 seconds of the first quarter. For the first time this season, the pair are a strong team. The two big men combined for 29 points, with Lemmilä leading all scorers with 15 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting.
“I got a really good pass from a really good defender,” Lemira told reporters. “I mean, they passed me when I was open and I scored.”
The unassuming Finnish center downplayed a performance characterized by increased intensity indoors. During one season of Lemmilä’s college career leading up to the 2025-26 season, Lemmilä sometimes seemed unaware of his size advantage. In the past three games, things have changed, with Lemira rushing into the penalty area, making physical contact, and still completing shots through three-point opportunities. Lemmilä made six of Ohio State’s 11 free throws in the game.
Lemira attributes the increased aggression in the paint to her return from injury for the third straight season and missing the entire preseason. In his first year with Lemmilä, the big man is recovering from ACL surgery a year ago. This season has been knee and ankle surgeries. This is a byproduct of being a 6-foot-6 teenager. Lemmilä’s health improved just in time for Big Ten play.
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For Kitts, especially when she’s on the court with Lemila, the forward has the freedom to dominate the court. Keatts stretched the entire 94 feet of the field and even pressed in the backfield. Ohio State guards found Keatts and Lemira all night long, and the Buckeyes outshot Western Michigan 56-18, with nine of Ohio State’s 18 assists going to one of its two big men before the starters went to the bench in the third quarter.
“I thought they [Kitts and Lemmilä] Both guys are playing well, and Elsa in particular seems to be getting a little better and a little more comfortable every week,” McGough told reporters. “I think the lineup that those two have on the court is going to be the lineup that we need to be effective going into Big Ten play. “
Now, that’s 6 feet, 7 inches of salt. Western Michigan is not the fourth-ranked UCLA Bruins, or any of the other five top-10 teams outside of Ohio State. The Broncos don’t have center Lauren Bates like UCLA does. Regardless, the win over the Broncos at least showed fans the road map for the Buckeyes, which features 11 players.
Ohio State establishes its guard rotation earlier than inside. McGough’s favorite backup pairings are sophomore guard Ava Watson and freshman Brene Martin. Since the Bahamas Pink Flamingos Tournament the week of Thanksgiving, Watson has proven that she is not only a capable point guard but also hasn’t dropped as much as expected in terms of skill and talent compared to starter Jaloni Cambridge.
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Last season, Watson sat in the corner as a backup shooting guard, waiting for Cambridge or then-forward Cody McMahon to drive to the basket and find her alone on a 3-point attempt. Since Nov. 26 against the West Virginia Mountaineers, the guard from Buford, Ga., is averaging 3.3 assists and 3.6 steals per game. Watson dished out six assists against the Broncos, three of which came in the first quarter before the game was completely out of Western Michigan’s hands.
For Martin, the freshman beat out fellow freshman Dasha Bilyuk as she excelled on both sides of the ball. Martin had a quiet offense against the Broncos but had two blocks and is averaging 1.3 steals per game this season, fourth on the team.
For Ohio State, UCLA will be more of a challenge than a test, but at least key players will face it.