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ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio women's basketball team lost to Northern Illinois 67-62 on Wednesday (Jan. 10) in The Convo. 

"Tonight was a loss at home, but we have another game prepare for. We have plenty more games to really make up from here, so this one night does not define us as a team. We still have room to grow," Senior guard Peyton Guice (Westerville, Ohio) said. 

Freshman guard Laylay Fantroy (Palestine, Texas) made her first appearance of the new year on Wednesday night. She had been out due to injury since Ohio played Bellarmine in December. Fantroy contributed nine points, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter. 

Senior guard Kennedi Watkins (Ballwin, Mo.) led the Bobcats in scoring with 12 points. She also contributed a career-high blocks with five and career-high assists with three. 

Guice also had a career-high on Wednesday. She snagged six rebounds to tie with Watkins for the second-most of the game. Senior Guard Bengisu Alper led the team with a season-high seven rebounds. 

The Bobcats and Huskies stayed even throughout the first and second quarters. Despite trailing by four points at halftime, the Bobcats outshot their opponent 36% to 33%. However, the Bobcats were out rebounded by the Huskies 22 to 18 and the Huskies had more second chance points.Overall, Ohio was outscored by Northern Illinois in three of the four quarters. The two tied in the third. 

Despite the loss, the Bobcats committed the least turnovers they have all season. They only turned over the ball 13 times on Wednesday.

As a team, the Bobcats shot 36% from the field and 50% from the line. They also snagged 31 rebounds. 

"I think it was a tough loss but just goes back into like growing, getting back into gym and just learn how to win games from start to finish, not just when it's down to one," Watkins said. 

Ohio will be back in action on Saturday (Jan. 13) at Toledo. Tip off is set for 2 p.m.

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