SHORT KING? NO, SHORT QUEEN: Jaloni Cambridge Drops 69 Points in Two Games, Wins AP Player of the Week
If you are a Big Ten defender, we have some bad news: Jaloni Cambridge has decided she is tired of sharing the basketball.
The Ohio State sophomore guard—who stands at a towering 5-foot-nothing (officially 5'6", but let's be real)—has been named the Associated Press National Player of the Week for Week 10. Why? Because she spent the last seven days treating opposing defenses like traffic cones on a driving test.
The Week of Jaloni
Let's look at the damage report from Columbus:
Victim #1: Illinois
Cambridge walked into Champaign and dropped a career-high 41 points.
Fun Fact: That is the most points by a Buckeye against a Big Ten opponent since Kelsey Mitchell did it in 2016.
The Stat Line: 41 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals.
The Vibe: She scored 29 of those points in the second half. Basically, she went into the locker room, drank some "Michael Jordan Secret Stuff" from Space Jam, and came out unconscious.
Victim #2: No. 8 Maryland
After dropping 40-plus, you'd expect a hangover game. Nope.
Cambridge put up 28 points, 8 assists, and a career-best 9 rebounds.
The Sanchez Analysis: How does a point guard get 9 rebounds against Maryland? She basically stole the lunch money out of the Terps' pockets. The Buckeyes erased a massive deficit to win 89-76, largely because Cambridge refused to lose.
Runner-Up: Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
Finishing in second place is LSU’s Mikaylah Williams, who decided to ruin No. 2 Texas' perfect season.
The Crime: 20 points, 7 rebounds, and a career-high 5 steals.
The Dagger: With 1:20 left and the shot clock screaming at her (1 second remaining), Williams casually drained a three to put LSU up 66-59. That is cold. That is "I don't care about your feelings" cold.
It was LSU's first win over a top-two team since 2008. Kim Mulkey was probably smiling. Terrifying.
Honorable Mentions (The "We Also Hooped" Club)
Mikayla Blakes (No. 5 Vanderbilt): Keeping the Commodores scary.
Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame): Probably stole the ball from you while you were reading this sentence.
Sarah Strong (No. 1 UConn): Just doing UConn things.
The Sanchez Verdict
Jaloni Cambridge is currently averaging "Video Game Numbers" per game. If you see her coming down the lane, just move. It's safer that way.
