ATHENS, Ohio – On Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio the Western Michigan women's basketball team fell to Ohio for the second time this season 74-52.

For the second instance in the last three games the Broncos had four players score in double figures led by sophomore Sydney Shafer with 14 points. Shafer was 5-of-14 from the field and 2-of-9 from long distance. Shafer also registered three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

Western Michigan had a trio of players score 10 points each with redshirt senior Reilly Jacobson, redshirt freshman Taylor Williams and junior Maddie Watters. Williams recorded her fourth straight double-double with 10 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass.

Williams was 5-of-14 from the field while also having three blocks and one steal in 28 minutes. Jacobson ranked second on team with eight rebounds to go along with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Rounding out the double digit scoring was Watters with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field with two three-pointers.

As a team the Broncos shot 36.8 percent from the field and was just 6-of-26 from behind the three-point line. Ohio narrowly out rebounded WMU, 42-39 with the Broncos earning 12 offensive rebounds. The Brown & Gold was plagued with 22 turnovers on Saturday with Ohio scoring 18 points off of Bronco mistakes.

Western Michigan now has an overall record of 3-13 and 2-12 in Mid-American Conference play. The Broncos return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at home against Kent State. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.  

It was a back and forth battle between both squads to begin the quarter as WMU and Ohio were tied at seven midway through the first quarter. Ohio embarked on a quick 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead with two minutes remaining before Maddie Watters rattled off five straight points to give the Broncos a 16-14 lead. An Ohio three as the clock hit zeros gave Ohio a one-point lead after 10 minutes of play.

Through the first three minutes of the second quarter Ohio held a 21-17 lead with the score remaining the same for nearly three minutes after both teams went scoreless from the field. The Bobcats embarked on a 7-1 run through the first six minutes of the second and took a 24-17 lead.

The Bronco offense got going late in the second quarter as sophomore Sydney Shafer rattled off eight straight points including back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 29 with under a minute remaining. WMU scored 10 of the final 12 points of the second quarter as WMU and Ohio were tied at 31 heading into the locker room.

It was all tied up early on in the third quarter before Ohio went on a 5-0 run to earn a 40-35 advantage with seven minutes remaining. Midway through the third the Bobcats opened their lead to double digits after an 11-1 run with WMU going scoreless for over five minutes.  The Broncos rallied back and cut the Ohio lead down to eight with under a minute left before Ohio taking a 56-46 lead into the fourth quarter.

Ohio pulled away early on in the fourth quarter as the Bobcats had a 20-point lead with six minutes remaining. The Bobcats continued to extend its lead late in the fourth quarter as Western Michigan went scoreless from the field for over four minutes. In the fourth quarter WMU registered just six points and was held scoreless the final 2:05 of play in a 74-52 loss at Ohio.