Ohio State Beats Rutgers on Alumni Day

Sunday, January 4

Columbus, Ohio

2:00 PM

Ohio State

13-2,3-1Big Ten

Rutgers

8-7,0-4Big Ten

Rutgers

Ohio St.

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Ohio State Beats Rutgers on Alumni Day

1/4/2026 5:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Buckeyes held the Scarlet Knights to just 49 points on Sunday’s 2026 opener.

Quotes | Notes

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 19/20 Ohio State women's basketball team (13-2, 3-1 B1G) defeated Rutgers (8-7, 0-4 B1G) by a 71-49 margin to begin the 2026 calendar year.

The first quarter was streaky with each team putting together an 8-0 run and Rutgers leading by a 17-14 margin after 10 minutes of play. The Buckeye defense held the Scarlet Knights scoreless for a pair of four-minute stretches in the second quarter and held the 31-26 lead at halftime. Ohio State led by a 51-42 margin after a back-and-forth third quarter. The Buckeyes had the 20-7 advantage in the fourth quarter to earn the 71-49 victory.

Chance Gray was the first Buckeye to reach double figures, doing so for the ninth time this season and finishing with 17 points. Jaloni Cambridge (18) and Elsa Lemmilä (10) joined Gray in double figures. Lemmilä added 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Kennedy Cambridge recorded a career-high seven assists and matched her career-high eight rebounds.

Quarter-by-Quarter Recap

Q1: Rutgers opened scoring on the first possession and held a slight advantage until back-to-back Ohio State three-pointers gave the Buckeyes a 14-9 lead with 4:13 to play in the opening frame. The Scarlet Knights responded with the final eight points of the quarter to lead by a 17-14 margin after 10 minutes.
Q2: J. Cambridge tied the game in the quarter's first possession with a three-pointer and again at 20 with six minutes to play in the half. The Buckeye defense held the Scarlet Knights scoreless during two separate spans of four minutes during the quarter. The Buckeye offense put together an 11-0 run during the latter half of the second frame and held a 31-26 lead going into the locker room.
Q3: Gray scored the Buckeyes' first six points of the third quarter, kickstarting an 8-0 Buckeye run that extended their lead to 39-28 with 7:14 to play in the quarter. Ohio State led by as many as 13 points at 49-36 after a free throw from J. Cambridge before back-to-back baskets by Rutgers. The Buckeyes held the 51-42 advantage after 30 minutes.
Q4: Ohio State opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to increase its lead to 61-44 with 5:36 to play. J. Cambridge strung together seven unanswered points to extend the Buckeye advantage to 68-46 with just under four minutes to play. Scoring was capped with Rutgers layup as Ohio State earned the 71-49 win.

Up Next

Ohio State travels to RV/- Illinois on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET tip off. The game will be broadcast live on B1G+ and AM1460.

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