No. 12 Ohio State women bounce back, continue to struggle in one critical area

The Buckeyes trailed 34-27 at the half and continued to struggle on the boards. Ohio State was outrebounded 48-34 after losing the advantage on the boards, 39-21, to Penn State in a shocking upset on Sunday.

Fortunately for Ohio State, it has been able to overcome the rebounding struggles by taking advantage of turnovers. That was on full display on Thursday night when Ohio State forced this giveaway from Maryland guard Saylor Poffenbarger, which led to a layup from Buckeyes forward Taylor Thierry to cut the Terrapins' lead to 50-44 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

This comes after Ohio State scored 22 points off 21 Penn State turnovers. 

Freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge led the team with 20 points (8-of-17 FG). Her eight rebounds were the most by any player on the team. No one else had more than five the entire game. Three players had at least two steals, including sophomore guard Kennedy Cambridge's four takeaways off the bench.

While all five of Maryland's starters scored in double figures, this was its second straight loss after an 89-51 loss to No. 7 Texas on Monday. The Terrapins had 27 turnovers in that game, so taking better care of the ball is crucial toward their success after a difficult two-game stretch. The road does not get any easier with No. 1 UCLA coming to town on Sunday.

The rebounding must improve for Ohio State. It cost the team against Penn State and nearly handed the Buckeyes another loss had it not been for the takeaways. Ohio State faces unranked Nebraska and Washington next before a three-game stretch against ranked opponents that includes No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC.