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ATHENS, OH.– The Ohio Women's Basketball Team (6-23, 4-14 MAC) was back in the Convo to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (15-4, 7-11 MAC) on Saturday afternoon (3/4) for their final matchup of the season. After a hard battle, the Bobcats fell to the Eagles 74-64. Ohio was led individually by sophomore Yaya Felder (Hartford, Conn.) with 35 points and redshirt junior Abby Garnett (Golden, Colo.) with 11 points.

Overall, the Ohio Bobcats went 22-of-57 (38.6%) from the field, 11-of-33 (33.3%) from the three, 9-of-13 (69.2%) from the line, snagged 30 rebounds, grabbed 6 steals, and collected 11 assists. 

From the jump, Eastern Michigan snagged the ball, but Ohio immediately fought back with two back to back three pointers from redshirt junior Jasmine Hale (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Abby Garnett to gain the first six points and lead for the Bobcats. Offensively the Bobcats were led by Garnett with five points, Yaya Felder with four points, and Hale with three points. Hale also led defensively with three rebounds, followed by freshman Jaya McClure (Louisville, Ky.) with two. A highlight of the quarter was from sophomore Aja Austin (Westerville, Ohio) who scored a second chance layup in the paint off a defensive turnover. The Eagles and Bobcats were breaking even in points for the majority of the quarter, but Ohio fell short by six at the end the first quarter 23-16. 

The Bobcats came into the second quarter with an energized offense to try and close the score gap against the Eagles, having another set of back to back three pointers from Felder and Garnett. A highlight of the quarter was a snagged defensive steal by Felder to score a driving layup to break the score even once more against Eastern Michigan. The quarter was also offensively led by Felder with 11 points, giving her double figures of scoring in the second ten minutes of play to give the Bobcats a scoring advantage. Defensively, Ohio collected nine rebounds, eight defensive and one offensive, and snagged two steals. Going into the locker room, the Eagles led by eight points against the Bobcats, putting the score 40-32. 

Coming out of the locker room, Eastern Michigan's defense continued to challenge the Bobcats. The Bobcats were led offensively by Felder, who scored 14 points giving her another set of double digits in the quarter. Collectively Ohio grabbed seven rebounds in the quarter, all defensive, snagged three steals, and had two blocks. The Bobcats were short by 12 against the Eagles, setting the score 60-48 going into the final quarter of the game. 

In the final ten minutes of play, the Bobcats continued to play with an energized offense to try and close the score gap once more against the Eagles. An offensive highlight of the quarter was a three point jumper made by freshman Cassidy Lafler (Dublin, Ohio) assisted by Felder. After a hard battle and challenging fourth quarter, the Bobcats ultimately fell to Eastern Michigan's Lachelle Austin who collected 25 points and Ce'Nara Skanes with 21 points with the score 74-64. 

After the game, seniors: Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio), Alexandra Antonova (Moscow, Russia), Jasmine Hale, Abby Garnett, and Caitlyn Kroll (Bridgeport, Ohio) were honored for their contributions to the Ohio Women's Basketball Team over the years. Saturday's matchup was the last home contest for the Bobcats and they will return to play for the 2023-24 season. 

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