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DeKALB, Ill. – The Ohio women's basketball team fought through adversity on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 6), but fell short on the road against Northern Illinois. The Bobcats (11-8, 5-5) fell to the Huskies (9-11, 6-6) by a final score of 80-70. Cece Hooks led the Bobcats with 20 points before exiting early with an injury, and Yaya Felder set a new career-high with 16 points. 

"I thought Northern played very well today," said head coach Bob Boldon after the game. "Our kids went out and played well, and I thought we tried, we cut into that lead several times, we just coulnd't quite get over the hump. ... I thought we gave good effort and made good adjustments on defense to give ourselves a chance."
 
Hooks started the scoring for the Bobcats, connecting on a three-pointer on Ohio's first possession of the game. The Huskies opened up a 22-13 lead by the media timeout in the first quarter, courtesy of 8 of 10 shooting through the first 6:30 of play. The Bobcats responded with a 13-4 run to take a 26-24 lead with less than minute left in the frame, a burst that was spearheaded by 3 of 4 shooting from beyond the arc. The two teams headed into the second quarter with the score knotted at 26 each. 
 
The Bobcats began the second quarter by taking a 34-31 lead less than four minutes into the frame. The Huskies answered back with three consecutive three-pointers, and had a 40-34 advantage at the media timeout. Northern Illinois extended the gap by the halftime buzzer, as the two teams went into the locker rooms with the score sitting at 47-37. 
 
Ohio went 13 for 33 (39.4%) from the field in the first half, including 9 for 18 (50%) from beyond the arc. The Bobcats were led in scoring by Hooks (12 points) and Felder (11) through the first 20 minutes of play. 
 
Felder started the second half scoring for Ohio with a layup, setting a new career high in points by eclipsing her previous high of 11 that was set in the Bobcats' win over Florida A&M in late November. Antonova connected on her third three-pointer of the afternoon to help Ohio narrow the deficit to 60-47 at the third quarter media timeout. The Bobcats went into the final ten minutes of play trailing 66-56.
 
After NIU stretched their lead to as large as 16 at 72-56 with 7:34 remaining, the Bobcats went on a 11-2 run to make it a seven-point game with 4:15 to play. Playing with only five available players, an injury to Hooks at the 3:31 mark forced Ohio to play with only four on the court for the remainder of the contest. The Huskies utilized the player advantage to secure the 80-70 win.
 
Up Next: 
 
The Bobcats will stay on the road for their next MAC contest, as they travel to take on Ball State on Wednesday evening (Feb. 9). Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. 

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