No. 3 Ohio State cruises past No. 14 Howard in first-round win

Field Level Media|published: Sat 21st March, 14:27 2026

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) shoots in front of Howard Bison forward Sa'lah Hemingway (11) during the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 21, 2026.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 21 points and sister Kennedy Cambridge added 11 points with seven rebounds as No. 3 seed Ohio State rolled to a 75-54 first-round victory over No. 14 Howard in a Fort Worth Region 1 game at Columbus, Ohio.

Chance Gray and Ava Watson also scored 11 points each and Elsa Lemmila added 11 rebounds as the Buckeyes (27-7) advanced to face the winner of the first-round game between Notre Dame and Fairfield.

Zennia Thomas scored 15 points and Ariella Henigan added 14 points with 10 rebounds as the Bison (26-8) saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end.

Ohio State shot 45.0% from the floor while holding Howard to 33.9% overall and 0 of 9 from 3-point range.

The Bison led 14-12 with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter before the Buckeyes went on a 12-0 run between the first and second quarters. Ohio State added a 13-0 run just before halftime to lead 43-19 at the break and Howard never threatened in the second half.

--Field Level Media