Box Score

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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team (2-11, 0-1 MAC), returned to action Saturday afternoon, falling to Kent State (10-3, 2-0 MAC), 60-44, inside the Convocation Center. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 29 percent from the field, five percent from three and 79 percent from the line, while Kent State shot 40 percent from the field, 24 percent from three and 88 percent from the line. Kent State out-rebounded Ohio, 43-32, while also grabbing nine steals and dishing out 14 assists to the Bobcats; nine steals and five assist. 
 
Individually, freshman guard Jaya McClure (Louisville, Ky.) led the way with 11 points, going 3-of-8 from the field, 1-of-5 from three and 4-of-4 from the line, while also grabbing three rebounds. Redshirt senior guard Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) added seven points and six rebounds, while redshirt junior forward Abby Garnett (Golden, Colo.) also scored seven points. Sophomore guard Yaya Felder (Hartford, Conn.) added six points, as did redshirt junior guard Jasmine Hale (Cincinnati, Ohio). 
 
After a slow start to the game, Kent State got off to an early 5-0 lead before a layup from Kroll got Ohio on the board. Over the next few minutes, both teams traded baskets, with Ohio never cutting the Flashes' lead closer than three, before Kent State hit a three at the end of the quarter to take a 16-8 lead after the first 10 minutes. 
 
The Bobcats opened the second quarter with layups from McClure and Felder to help cut the Ohio deficit to three with 7L48 to go in the quarter. However, Kent State responded with a 5-0 run to take a 22-14 lead mid-way through the quarter. After a three from McClure and a layup from Hale cut the deficit back to three with 2:15 to go in the quarter, Kent State went on an 8-0 run to close out the quarter, taking a 32-21 lead into the half. 
 
At the half, Ohio shot 31 percent from the field, went 1-of-11 from three and were 0-of-1 from the line, while Kent State shot 46 percent from the field, 30 percent from three and were 5-of-6 from the line. Individually, McClure led the Bobcats with seven points and two rebounds. 
 
A 6-0 run for the Bobcats in the early minutes of the third quarter helped Ohio cut the deficit to eight with 7:35 remaining, however a 12-1 run from Kent State increased their lead to 47-28 before a layup from Garnett stopped the run with 1:22 to go in the quarter. However, four more points from the Flashes put them up 51-30 after three quarters. 
 
The Bobcats opened the fourth quarter with four-straight points from Kroll and free throws from Garnett to help cut the deficit to 56-37 with 7:04 to play. Over the remaining minutes, the offense from both teams stalled, with Ohio cutting the score as close as 14 with 1:58 to go. However, that was as close as Ohio would get, falling by the final of 60-44. 
 
For Kent State, Bridget Dunn scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Katie Shumatte scored nine points and grabbed 11 boards. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats stay in Athens to take on Buffalo on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. 
 
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