Before Ohio State snapped Connecticut's 17-year steak of making it to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season, the Buckeyes went down to the wire against North Carolina in a second-round matchup.

A tight battle until the end, Ohio State pulled out the two-point victory to advance in the tournament behind multiple key contributors, including forward Eboni Walker. Scoring a career-high 15 points in that playoff game, the transfer played a "critical" role in the Buckeyes' postseason run.

Midway through her second season with Ohio State, Walker has proved once more that she is able to step up when needed. When regular starter Rebeka Mikulasikova was sidelined with an illness prior to the Northwestern matchup on Jan. 5, Walker filled in for her fellow post player, recording 11 points and a team-high six rebounds and six assists.

"I’m always willing to do whatever my team needs," Walker said following Ohio State's 90-60 victory over Northwestern. "Any given night, I’m just ready to give whatever they want from me or whatever they need from me."

Walker appeared in 11 games as a starter last season. Now, it is not out of the realm of possibility OSU coach Kevin McGuff slots Walker into that spot once again when they face Rutgers University on Thursday night.

While it was confirmed that Mikulasikova is good to go against the Scarlet Knights, as of Wednesday afternoon McGuff had not made a final decision on the starting lineup. Through her 13 games, Mikulasikova is averaging 8.5 points per game.

Even if Walker does end up coming off the bench, the expectation is that she will be seeing some quality playing time as McGuff hopes to keep her momentum going.

Buckeyes' reserves in action

The Scarlet Knights are 0-3 in Big Ten play. Despite the fact Ohio State has big games ahead later this month, such as a meeting with Caitlin Clark and Iowa, the Buckeyes are maintaining the mindset that, "the only important game is the next one on the schedule."

"Every team in this league is capable," McGuff said. "If you watch them (Rutgers), they've been in every game, they've had chances, they just haven't quite finished. So, I don't care if it's Rutgers or if it's Iowa. If you don't give somebody your full attention, it’s probably not going to go your way."

As the heavy favorites against Rutgers, if everything does go as planned for No. 17 Ohio State there is a good chance that the bench could see a fair amount of action.

Against Northwestern, the Buckeyes' reserves accounted for 26 points, with freshman Diana Collins putting together the first 10-point performance of her career and Madison Greene adding 6 points and three steals.

Along with Collins and Greene, McGuff feels Newark grad Emma Shumate is another player to watch out for, especially from beyond the arc. Shumate she has the second-most made 3-pointers with 17 this season, just eight fewer than starter Jacy Sheldon.

Will Kennedy Cambridge play this season?

McGuff said Wednesday that Ohio State will likely be redshirting sophomore transfer Kennedy Cambridge.

Since being added to the Ohio State roster following her departure from Kentucky, Cambridge has been listed as out prior to every game this season. Starting the year off recovering from an injury, the guard's status remained the same despite being medically cleared before the Northwestern game.

"She missed time and all that," McGuff said. "So, I think I’d rather preserve the year and give her a chance to impact us for longer on the back end."

On Dec. 29, Cambridge's younger sister Jaloni Cambridge revealed that she'd be joining her older sibling in Columbus, committing to Ohio State over schools such as LSU and South Carolina. Jaloni is the No. 3 ranked player from the 2024 class according to ESPN.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State women's starting lineup is undecided ahead of matchup vs. Rutgers