Oilers Host Grand Valley State & Ferris State this Week
The University of Findlay women's basketball team will host a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contests this week. The Oilers will host Grand Valley State University on Thursday, Feb. 16 in a 6 pm contest and then face Ferris State University on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 pm in Croy Gymnasium.
Special Events
Thursday's contest against the Lakers is scheduled to be a "Blackout". The Oilers Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) decided to take on a challenge and sponsor a child's wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Working through Make-A-Wish, SAAC partnered with a Findlay child, Logan, who is looking for his wish to be granted. Logan's wish is to have a therapy pool and lift put in his home. Being in the water is the one opportunity Logan has to be free from restraints.
To fundraise for this, SAAC will be selling black t-shirts for $5. T-shirts are available for purchase at the game or in the athletic office from 2-5 pm until Wednesday. Donations will also be accepted at the game or can be made by contacting Brandi Laurita at 419-434-4651.
Senior Day
The Oilers will have their annual senior day on Saturday. Come out and support the basketball seniors and applaud their accomplishments on the court.
Sights and Sounds
All Oilers basketball games can be heard on 88.3 FM "WLFC" or on the internet via their website.
You can listen to the broadcast by clicking on the following link:
The University of Findlay will also broadcast all of their home basketball games on America One. The games can be viewed on your computer for a small fee by visiting the American One website at the following address:
UF athletics will also offer live stats for all home games. A link to this process can be retrieved by clicking on the live stats button located on the left side of the Oilers athletic website.
The Series
The Oilers trail in the all-time series against Grand Valley State by a 12-4 margin dating back to the 1997-98 campaign when the Lakers came out on top by a score of 68-52.
The Lakers won the only meeting between the two programs last year, 58-41 in Allendale, Michigan.
Kayla Brown and Laura Bardall led the team with 12 points apiece.
Brown made 5-of-15 shots from the field and recorded six rebounds and four steals while Bardall connected on 5-of-19 shots with three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Clare Aubry also broke into double figures, scoring ten points on 3-of-17 shooting. She also attempted 14 three pointers, tying a school record for most the most triple tries in a game.
The Oilers hold a 9-7 advantage in the all-time series against Ferris State dating back to the 1997-98 campaign when Findlay won by a score of 66-59.
Last year, the Oilers came away with an 82-67 win over the Bulldogs in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Kayla Brown added 19 points and eight rebounds while Laura Bardall recorded 18 points and nine boards in the game.
Kaitlyn Nelson also broke into double figures, scoring 15 points on the strength of a 9-of-11 performance from the free throw line.
As a team, the Oilers connected on 50 percent (27-of-54) of their field goal attempts and hit 21-of-25 (84%) shots from the charity stripe.
The University of Findlay
The Oilers snapped a five-game losing streak with an 85-64 win over Ohio Dominican University on Saturday, Feb. 11 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Oilers shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the floor and connected on 22-of-24 (91.7%) attempts from the free throw line.
Findlay's defense held the Panthers to a mere 37.9 percent (22-of-58) shooting clip while also forcing 23 turnovers in the game.
Freshman forward Lacey Kessler came off the bench to score 23 points in only 19 minute of action. She hit all 11 of her shots from the free throw line, made 6-of-9 shots from the field and added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Junior forward Kayla Brown had 16 points and five rebounds while red-shirt freshman forward Carlay Stahl had 14 points and four boards.
Senior guard Clare Aubry and red-shirt sophomore guard Ashley Andrews each had nine points as well for Findlay in the win.
For Findlay's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Findlay's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Grand Valley State University
The Lakers are currently 9-14 on the year with a 6-10 record in the GLIAC. Briauna Taylor leads the team with 14.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
For Grand Valley State's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Grand Valley State's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Ferris State University
The Bulldogs sport a 16-5 record on the season with a 13-2 mark in conference play. Sarah DeShone leads the team with averages of 15.0 points, 4.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.
For Ferris State's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Ferris State's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Grand Theft
The Oilers are averaging 11.5 steals per game on the year, the best total in the conference.
Junior forward Kayla Brown is amongst the league leaders and ranks sixth with 2.2 steals per contest.
Defending the Basket
The Oilers rank fifth in the conference in blocked shots per game at 3.7 per contest.
Individually, senior forward Kaitlyn Nelson ranks fourth in the GLIAC with 1.9 blocked shots per game.
Automatic from the Line
Junior forward Kayla Brown ranks third in the GLIAC in free throw shooting percentage as she hits 87.3 percent of her attempts.
Her percentage is also the 14th best in all of NCAA Division II women's basketball.
Senior guard Clare Aubry is checks in seventh with a 83.6 percent shooting clip from the charity stripe.
As a team, the Oilers are hitting 74.3 percent from the line, the fourth best mark in the GLIAC and the 30th best in the nation.
Shooting a High Percentage
Freshman forward Lacey Kessler is currently ranked eighth in the GLIAC in field goal shooting percentage as she his connecting on 50.0 percent of her attempts.
Senior forward Kaitlyn Nelson also shows up in the league leaders, ranking ninth with a 48.2 percent shooting clip.
As a team, the Oilers rank fifth in the GLIAC with a 41.1 percent shooting clip.
Putting Points on the Board
Junior forward Kayla Brown is leading the team and ranks 16th in the GLIAC with a 12.4 points per game average.
Teammate Clare Aubry also shows up amongst the league leaders and is ranked 26th with a 10.6 points per game average.
As a team, the Oilers rank fifth in the league with 67.3 points per game.
Stroking 3's
Junior forward Kayla Brown is hitting 38.0 percent of her three point attempts on the season, which is the seventh best mark in the GLIAC.
Her 1.7 three pointers per game is the 14th highest total in the conference as well.
Dropping Dimes
The Oilers are dishing out 12.7 assists per game on the year, the seventh best total in the league.
Swatting Shots
Senior forward Kaitlyn Nelson became Findlay's all-time blocked shots leader in a 71-69 win at Lake Erie College on January 12, 2012.
Nelson blocked four shots in the game to put her ahead of Kelly Carder, who swatted 158 shots from 1996-99, and now has 168 for her career.
A Record Setting Performance
Freshman forward Lacey Kessler came off the bench in the Oilers 88-71 win at Wayne State on January 14, 2012 to score 26 points. She tied a Findlay record with 16 makes from the free throw line and established a new mark with 19 attempts.
GLIAC Player of the Week
Junior forward Kayla Brown was tabbed the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week for the first time in her career on January 3, 2012.
Brown led the Oilers to a pair of wins at their Holiday Tournament on December 29-30 by averaging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Winning GLIAC South Division Titles
The Oilers have back-to-back GLIAC South Division titles (2009-10, 2010-11) and as a program, have captured championships in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010 and 2011.
GLIAC Tournament
The Oilers have appeared in the GLIAC Tournament three times in their history. During the 2009-10 campaign, the Oilers won a GLIAC Tournament game for the first time in school history, defeating Hillsdale College 66-62 to advance to the second round.
GLIAC Preseason Poll
The Oilers were picked to finish second in the South Division of the GLIAC this season. They received 152 votes and ten first place votes, to fall just short of Ashland University (153) in the poll.
Preseason All-GLIAC
Senior guards Laura Bardall and Clare Aubry were both picked as preseason first team all-conference in voting conducted by the coaches within the league.
Bardall was a first team all-conference pick last season after averaging 14.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Aubry meanwhile was a second team all-league pick as a junior and averaged 15.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
1,000 Point Club
Senior guard Laura Bardall ranks eighth all-time at Findlay with 1,262 career points.
Bardall was injured in the Oilers exhibition game against Bowling Green State University and will not have a chance to build on her total this year.
Helpful Links
For more information on the GLIAC, please click on the following link:
For more information on NCAA Division II Men's Basketball, please click on the following links: