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LEXINGTON, KY – The Ohio women's basketball team (2-8, 0-0 MAC) traveled to the University of Kentucky to play the Wildcats (8-3, 0-0 SEC) in a tough non-conference matchup. Kentucky is coming off a historic 2021-22 season, winning their conference and the Ohio Bobcats proved to be ready for the challenge on the Wildcats home court. The final score was 86-95 with Yaya Felder leading the Bobcats on offense with a total of 20 points and Ella Pope leading on defense with 6 rebounds. Caitlyn Kroll went 4-6 from the three point line and Jaya McClure went 3-5. 

From tipoff, Ohio grabbed possession of the basketball and maintained a lead for the first 9 minutes of play. There were driving layups from Yaya Felder, Caitlyn Kroll, Kate Dennis, and Abby Garnett. Caitlyn Kroll also pulled back for a three point jumper to put her in the lead for Ohio with 5 points in the first ten minutes, followed by Yaya with 4. On defense, Jaya McClure led in rebounds, grabbing 2 for the Bobcats, allowing the score to remain close at the end of the first quarter at 16-17. 

To start the second quarter, Ohio immediately regained the lead off a layup by Abby Garnett followed up by a drive in the paint by Yaya Felder. In the 2nd minute of the quarter Yaya snatched a steal off the Wildcats leading to a layup off a fast break. Caitlyn Kroll continued the scoring on offense with two three pointers from downtown. On defense, Kendall Hale had strong hands with several held balls to force turnovers and Ella Pope led in Ohio rebounds. The score was 33-33 going into the locker room for halftime. 

Kentucky came out in the third quarter with renewed energy in hopes to create a gap in scoring, putting the Bobcats down by 8 in the first 3 minutes, but Ohio fought back with three pointers from Caitlyn Kroll, Jaya McClure, and Kendall Hale. Jaya McClure led Ohio in scoring for the third quarter with 6 points, followed by Kendall Hale with 5. After being down 35-41, the Bobcats took advantage of their offense to come back and get the score within two possessions going into the fourth. 

The score was 57-62 going into the last ten minutes of play. Caitlyn Kroll was leading Ohio with 14 points, followed closely by Yaya Felder with 10. The first points of the quarter came from Abby Garnett off two foul shots getting the score to 59-62. In response, the Wildcats increased pressure offensively and took a ten point lead with 5 minutes left to play. Once again, Ohio did not surrender, forcing shot clock violations on Kentucky and driving in the paint. Jaya McClure had a game changing three in the last minute of play to give Ohio new life at 86-91 with 21 seconds left to play. The Bobcats fell just short with a final score of 86-95. 

Overall, the Bobcats had a FG% of .62 (31-50), a  3PT% of .43 (9-21), and a FT% of .88 (15-17). Ohio also collected 20 rebounds, grabbed 4 steals, and had 16 assists. 

Up Next:

The Ohio Bobcats will stay on the road and head to Columbia University in New York City on December 28th. The contest will be at 1 pm and will be available to stream on ESPN+ 

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