Jaloni Cambridge Scores Career-High 41 Points in Win at RV Illinois

Wednesday, January 7

Champaign, Ill.

7:00 PM

Ohio State

14-2,4-1Big Ten

RV/RV Illinois

13-3,3-2Big Ten

Ohio St.

Illinois

Jaloni Cambridge Scores Career-High 41 Points in Win at RV Illinois

1/7/2026 9:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Buckeyes handed the Fighting Illini their first home loss of the season on Wednesday night.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 19/19 Ohio State women's basketball team (14-2, 4-1 B1G) held off RV/RV Illinois (13-3, 3-2 B1G) on Wednesday evening, earning a 78-69 win and handing Illinois its first home loss of the season.

A back-and-forth first quarter featured nine lead changes and saw Illinois up by a 22-19 margin after 10 minutes. The teams were tied at 36 points going into the locker room. Jaloni Cambridge's 12 third-quarter points gave the Buckeyes a 52-46 advantage after 30 minutes of play. The Buckeyes wrapped up the game from the charity stripe in a high-scoring fourth quarter that saw the final score at 78-69.

Chance Gray was the first in the game to reach double figures, doing so early in the second quarter and for the 10^th time this season. Gray scored 18 points and was joined in double figures by J. Cambridge (career-high 41) and Kylee Kitts (10). J. Cambridge became the first Buckeye to score 40 points in a game against a Big Ten opponent since Kelsey Mitchell totaled 43 against Rutgers on March 4, 2016.

Quarter-by-Quarter Recap

Q1: Kennedy Cambridge opened scoring on a feed from Elsa Lemmilä. Back-and-forth action produced seven lead changes in the first five minutes as Illinois held a 13-12 advantage midway through the quarter. A layup from J. Cambridge gave the Buckeyes a 17-14 lead but the Fighting Illini responded with an 8-0 run to take a 22-17 lead and led by a 22-19 mark at the end of the quarter.
Q2: Gray scored the Buckeyes' first four points of the quarter and Kylee Kitts tied the game at 26 with a three-pointer. Ohio State led by a 32-31 margin midway through the quarter after a layup from Lemmilä. Both defenses stood tall and the game was tied at 36 at halftime.
Q3: Illinois opened scoring in the second half before J. Cambridge tied the game for the 10^th and 11^th times. Her second basket of the third quarter began a 6-0 Buckeyes run spanning three minutes to give Ohio State a 44-40 lead. J. Cambridge scored the Buckeyes' final eight points of the quarter as the Buckeyes held a 52-46 lead after 30 minutes of play.
Q4: The Fighting Illini scored first in the fourth quarter, but the Buckeyes responded with a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 61-48 with 7:40 to play – the largest lead of the game. Illinois scored seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 61-55 with six minutes remaining. J. Cambridge tied her career-high 33 points with a jumper to put Ohio State back up by 10 points at 68-58. The Fighting Illini got within five points at 68-53 with 2:13 to play. The Buckeyes got to the line down the stretch and capped scoring at 78-69.

Game Notes

J. Cambridge became the first Buckeye to score 40 points in a game against a Big Ten opponent since Kelsey Mitchell totaled 43 against Rutgers on March 4, 2016. J. Cambridge had a career-high 41 points.
Chance Gray reached double figures early in the second quarter, the first in the game to reach 10 points. Her 10^th game of the season in double figures was good for 18 points.
Jaloni Cambridge also reached double figures before halftime. She's scored at least 10 points in all 16 games this season and scored at least 20 points in seven games. This is J. Cambridge's second 30-point game of the season as she previously tied her career-high 33 points against Northern Kentucky (12/11).
Kylee Kitts used a three-point play in the fourth quarter to reach 10 points, her sixth double-figure performance of the season. She totaled 10 points.
Kennedy Cambridge recorded at least three steals for the 15^th time this season, finishing the game with three steals to bring her season total to 66.
Q1: The quarter included nine lead changes. Ohio State shot 8-of-16 (.500) from the floor.
Q3: J. Cambridge scored 12 points in the quarter compared to Illinois' 10 points as a team.
Q4: J. Cambridge shot 6-of-8 (.750) from the floor in the fourth quarter, including a pair of three-pointers, to total 17 points in the frame.

Up Next

Ohio State travels to No. 8/8 Maryland on Sunday for a 4 p.m. tip off. The game will be broadcast live on Peacock and AM1460.

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