Then- freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge is introduced before a game against Maryland in January 2025. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
With 8:08 left in the third quarter, Jaloni Cambridge takes a pass, looks forward and begins to dribble.
Within seconds, she’s streaking down the court and the entire game seems to accelerate.
Defenders scramble to keep up with the blur in scarlet and gray.
But for all the speed that’s defined her game, Cambridge’s biggest growth this season has come from learning to slow down.
Following a year in which she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and averaged 15.4 points per game, Cambridge entered her sophomore season with a new challenge: leading a retooled Ohio State roster that lost six players to graduation and transfers. With just five returners, three of them sophomores, the Buckeyes’ identity would depend largely on their point guard—and Cambridge has embraced the role.
Ohio State lost six players from last year’s roster following a second-round NCAA Tournament exit, leaving only five returners, three of them sophomores. Among them, Cambridge brought the most experience, and head coach Kevin McGuff made it clear that her growth would define the team’s direction.
“Obviously, Jaloni’s coming off, what I think, was a really productive freshman campaign, but we expect her to take another step this year,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGruff said. “Both with her production on the court and scoring the ball for us, making other people better, but also, from a leadership standpoint.”
That leadership was on display immediately.
In the Buckeyes’ season-opening 88–59 win over Coppin State, Cambridge looked every bit the composed floor general McGuff described. She tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, controlling the pace of the game while setting the tone for a young roster still finding its rhythm.
“Last year, I could have done more,” Cambridge said. “Should have done more, but this year, with the team we have, I have to do more, and I’m OK with that. I’m surrounded by good people, both teammates and coaches. So, it’s nothing new, just being myself and just playing the game, and definitely playing a lot harder.”
For teammates like forward Ella Hobbs, Cambridge’s energy is contagious.
“She’s so fast,” Ohio State forward Ella Hobbs said. “She’ll get the rebound, or if you get her the rebound pass to her, she’s all the way up the court already.
From her days at Montverde Academy and Ensworth School, where she was a three-time Tennessee Miss Basketball, to her explosive start in Columbus, her quickness has set her apart from nearly everyone else on the court. But what’s defining her sophomore season is the ability to channel that speed into composure.
“I know I’m a fast player,” she said. “But I’ve been doing a pretty good job of slowing down because it really opens the floor up a lot more.”
Cambridge may be learning to slow down, but she is only gaining momentum.
