Yaya Felder became just the third player in Ohio women's basketball history to score 40 points in a single game on Wednesday night. Despite Felder's historic performance, Ohio (3-15, 1-6 Mid-American Conference) lost 69-66 to Central Michigan (4-14, 2-5 MAC).
Felder immediately got out to a hot start early in the first quarter when she made her first 3-point attempt of the game. Although Felder had five points midway through the first quarter, the Bobcats defense struggled and the Chippewas jumped out to a 10-point lead. Ohio cut it to four by the end of the first quarter, and Jasmine Hale and Felder combined for 13 of the Bobcats' 15 first quarter points.
The Chippewas scored the first six points of the second quarter to retake a 10-point lead, but Felder scored four points in a row to bring the Bobcats within six. Felder converted a 3-point play late in the second quarter before another 3-pointer to bring her first half point tally to 19. Despite Felder's offensive explosion, the Bobcats were still down seven going into the second half.
After an Abby Garnett three, Felder picked up right where she left off in the first half with nine straight points to cut the Chippewa lead to one. She then found Caitlyn Kroll beyond the arc to give the Bobcats their first lead of the second half. Felder scored her 32nd and 33rd points at the free throw line to put the Bobcats up one late in the third quarter. The Chippewas took back the lead heading into the fourth.
The Bobcats were held scoreless for over three minutes in the fourth quarter, and the Chippewas took a five-point lead, but right when the Bobcats needed a bucket, Felder converted a 3-point play to get the Bobcats back in the game. After neither team scored for almost three minutes, Felder stepped up once again with a layup that tied the game and cemented her as the third player in program history to score 40 points in one game. The Chippewas were only interested in spoiling Felder's historic performance, however, and Sydney Harris' go-ahead 3-pointer went a long way in doing so. The Bobcats were down three with 57 seconds to go, and despite attempts from Kroll and Hale, the Bobcats were never able to tie the game.
Felder scored 40 points in 39 minutes on 12-24 shooting. She went 3-10 from beyond the arc and 13-14 from the free throw line in her historic performance.
Hale finished with the second-most points for Ohio with nine, and Kroll ended the game with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
