Ohio (2-13, 0-4 Mid-American Conference) couldn't complete its comeback in the second half against NIU (10-5, 2-2 MAC) on Saturday and lost its ninth straight game.
The Bobcats fell behind in the first quarter when their offense stalled, and the Huskies took a 17-10 lead. The Bobcats scored five points at the end of the first quarter to cut the deficit to four.
Caitlyn Kroll gave the Bobcats a spark early in the second quarter when she knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. The Huskies answered with a 12-2 scoring run to build their largest lead of the first half, Yaya Felder helped the Bobcats cut the Huskies lead to nine with a layup in the final seconds of the first half.
The Bobcats weren't able to gain much ground in the beginning of the third quarter after the Huskies started to heat up offensively. Down by 11, the Bobcats went on a quick 8-2 run to get back into the game. Kroll made another 3-pointer late in the third quarter to bring the Bobcats within three.
The Huskies went into the final quarter with a five-point lead, but the Bobcats scored a pair of layups to pull within one. The Huskies created some separation with 3-pointers from Sidney McCrea and Chelby Koker. Felder hit a three of her own and the deficit was only two with four minutes to play. The Bobcats couldn't capitalize on any momentum they received from Felder's made three, and they failed to score the rest of the way. The Huskies scored the game's final ten points, and won the game 78-66.
Felder led the Bobcats in scoring with 23 points, while Jasmine Hale and Kroll both went for 13 points. Felder also had a team-high nine assists, which also tied her season-high.
