With 27 seconds left in the third quarter, freshman guard Madi Morson found freshman guard Jayda Mosley wide open behind the three-point line. Mosley, who had already hit two of her three previous shots from deep, sank the triple to give the Chippewas a one point lead and shift the momentum.

Despite leading the game late, Central Michigan was unable to close out Sunday’s game in Dayton, Ohio. In what was a close contest throughout that included 14 total lead changes, the Dayton Flyers found the edge, winning the game 72-68.

“It's frustrating that we can't put two halves together,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “ If we come out in the first half how we did in the second half, we win that game.”

Central Michigan found its first bucket about two minutes into the game as Morson knocked down a jumper to get herself and the Chippewas going on offense. Despite the early basket, the Chippewas again struggled with a slow start.

However, Central Michigan eventually found its rhythm, ending the first quarter with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Mayla Ham as time expired, giving CMU a one point, 18-17, lead.

Dayton senior forward Arianna Smith was a force on offense for the Flyers as she reached double digit points just halfway through the second quarter. Morson continued to score into the second as well, reaching double digit points for the Chippewas.

The Chippewas went cold to end the half, as they were unable to hit a field goal in the final three minutes before halftime. Dayton, however, continued to make its shots, ending the half a 6-1 run to take the 37-30 lead into the break.

Central Michigan pounded the offensive glass in the first half, coming up with 14 offensive rebounds compared to Dayton’s five. The Chippewas were efficient from behind the three-point line, knocking down four of their nine shots from deep.

The Chippewas found some offensive momentum early to start the second half as both Morson and Mosley knocked down three-pointers to bring the Chippewas within one just three minutes into the half. CMU would take the lead with Mosley’s three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the quarter.

Over the course of the game, the Chippewas shot better from behind the arc than they did from regular field goal range. Central Michigan went 8-for-19, 42.1%, from deep.

“Yeah, (making threes) helps a lot,” Haynie said. “It opens up the paint a little bit too. And now that we've had some consistent games, these last few games shooting the ball well from the three, so we'll keep working on that building and getting shots up so we continue to get that percentage up.”

Dayton responded before the end of the quarter with a shot of its own before the buzzer, taking the slight 49-48 lead going into the fourth.

Both teams pushed towards the end of the game, trading shots and keeping the game close. Morson continued to shine, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter alone. However, the Flyers used a 10-1 run in the final two minutes to take and keep the lead and hand the Chippewas their seventh loss of the season.

The Chippewas ended the game with 42 total rebounds, with 20 on the offensive side of the ball.

“It's toughness and effort and you can't really teach that,” Haynie said. “We got a lot of second chance points today and we're going to continue to build on that.”

Morson led the Chippewas in scoring as she had a career high 32 points, going 13-of-19 from the field while also knocking down three three-pointers, in the loss. Senior guard Jess Lawson struggled to find the basket as she went 3-of-14 from the field, scoring 10 points.

“We have to be consistent,” Haynie said. “We have to play 40 minutes like we're down 10 in the first half. And we bring that attitude and that consistency, then we're going to win more ballgames. But we just can't be a team that is complacent and the urgency and the toughness wasn't there in the first half, it was in the second.”

The Chippewas come back home for their final game of the calendar year as they take on Milwaukee at 1 p.m. on Sunday.