Oilers Host #4 Ashland/Lake Erie
The Oilers will play their first ranked team of the season as they host the nation's number four in the form of the 16-0, Ashland University Eagles. This Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup will be in Croy Gymnasium at 5:30 pm on Thursday, Jan. 21. They will then host GLIAC foe Lake Erie College on Saturday, Jan. 23. That game will begin at 1:00 pm.
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Series Information
The game vs. Ashland will be the 43rd meeting between these two schools. Including their initial meeting in the 1990-91 season, a 58-42 Ashland win, the Oilers have posted a 17-25 record against the Eagles.
These two teams split last year's series with each team getting the win on their home floor. Findlay lost the first meeting in Ashland on Jan. 17, 77-66, but got revenge in Croy on Feb. 12, 74-72.
On Jan. 17, the Oilers got a pair of 18 point efforts. Ciara Geiger made 7-of-14 from the floor while Nikki Gunning hit 6-of-10. Gunning was 5-of-8 from deep. Ashland shot 54% from the floor and outrebounded Findlay 41-27. The Eagles had four players score in double figures: Laina Snyder (18), Rachelle Morrison (13), Andi Daugherty (13), and Taylor Woods (11).
On Feb. 12, the Oilers broke the hearts of Eagles fans when Margaret Wuebker beat the buzzer and hit a jumper with one second on the clock giving Findlay the victory. Wuebker scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench for the Orange and Black. 12 of those 16 points came in the second half of play. Karli Bonar was able to knock down 5-of-6 from deep in the game. Findlay forced 25 turnovers in the game.
In games against Lake Erie College, the Oilers are 16-1 as this will be the 18th meeting between the two. Their first matchup came in the 1988-89, a game in which Findlay had no problem scoring as they took down the storm 105-54.
Last season the Oilers swept the season series as they won both games they played against Lake Erie.
In the first contest, Findlay went on the road and won 66-58.
The Oilers shot 48.8 percent (21-of-43) from the floor and forced 21 turnovers in the game. They also held the Storm to a 39.7 percent (23-of-58) shooting clip in the win.
Karli Bonar led the way with 17 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals. She hit 5-of-12 shot attempts and connected on 5-of-10 three point tries.
Ciara Geiger also reached double figures with 14 points and stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block in the game.
Kristin Klausing chipped in nine points, four rebounds and four assists while Margaret Wuebker, Shannon Zajec and Kelsey Lewis had five points apiece.
When Findlay hosted Lake Erie, the game resulted in a 21-point victory for the Orange and Black.
Findlay shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the floor in the win and held the Storm to a mere 28.8 percent (17-of-59) shooting clip. They also drained 10-of-27 (37%) attempts from three point range and held a 40-32 advantage on the boards in the game.
Karli Bonar splashed home five three pointers and ended the game with 17 points while Margaret Wuebker came off the bench to provide 17 points and six rebounds in only 21 minutes of work.
Nikki Gunning provided some more scoring punch off the pine with 13 points while Kelsey Lewis nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Kristin Klausing stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, five assists and four rebounds to aid the Oilers in their win as well.
Findlay
The Oilers enter the game with an 11-5 record overall with a 6-4 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
Findlay is led by sophomore Haley Horstman who is scoring at a rate of 12.4 points per game, grabbing 3.4 rebounds per game, and dishing out 2.5 assists per game.
Also picking up a bulk of the scoring are seniors Margaret Wuebker and Karli Bonar. They are scoring 10.7 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Wuebker is second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per contest while senior Kelsey Lewis is grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game. Lewis' field goal percentage of 64.8 is the best in the GLIAC.
The Oilers have the second best shooting percentage in the GLIAC at 45.4%.
Individually, senior forward Kelsey Lewis leads the conference with a 59.8 percent shooting clip.
The Oilers have shot over 50 percent from the field in seven of their sixteen games this season.
Ashland
The Eagles enter the game with a perfect 16-0 record and boast a #4 national ranking.
The best scoring team in the GLIAC at 78.1 points per game, Ashland's closest game came on Jan. 9, a six point win over Michigan Tech. Eight of their 16 wins have been by 20 points or more.
As the best team in the GLIAC, the Eagles are leading the conference in multiple statistics: points (1250), points per game (78.1), FG made per game (30.7), FG% (49.1), rebound margin (+9.6), and assists per game (20.6).
Sophomore Andi Daugherty and sophomore Laina Snyder are the two leading scorers for Ashland with each scoring at a rate of 15.2 points per game. Senior McKenzie Miller is scoring 10.3. Each of those three players is shooting above 50% on the year.
Snyder is the team's best rebounder at 8.8 boards per game while Daugherty is pulling in 7.3 per game. Snyder's 54 steals this season are the most in the GLIAC.
Lake Erie
The Storm enter the week with a 5-11 record overall and a 2-8 mark in GLIAC play.
As a team, Lake Erie leads the GLIAC in steals per game with 11.1. They also play solid defense and are holding teams to a field goal percentage of 39.5, the fifth best in the conference in that category.
They are led by sophomore Kayla Gabor who is scoring 14.6 points per game with a field goal percentage of 42.7. No other Storm player is averaging double-figures.
Gabor is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Christine Dawson is tied for second on the team with senior Kaeding Skelton at 4.1 rebounds per contest.
Bombs Away
Junior guard Karli Bonar has made 166 career three pointers at Findlay, the third best mark in school history. She is chasing former UF star Maggie Gompers for second place on the all-time list. Gompers canned 206 three pointers for the Oilers from 2007-10.
Bonar broke the school record for most made three pointers in a season last year with 71. She bettered the mark of 68, which was set by Maggie Gompers during the 2008-09 campaign.
Chasing 1,000 Career Points
Senior forward Margaret Wuebker is looking to become the Oilers 20th member of the 1,000-point club this season. Wuebker has scored 903 career points during her tenure with the program, leaving her 97 points shy of the 1,000-point plateau.
Reaching the 90-Point Plateau
The Oilers have scored 90 or more points 68 times since the 1978-79 season and sport a 67-1 (.985) record in those games. Their only loss came at the hands of Wilmington, who defeated the Oilers by a score of 110-98 in 1985.
Winning GLIAC South Division Titles
The Oilers have won five GLIAC South Division titles since joining the league in 1997. They have captured championships in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010 and 2011.
GLIAC Tournament
The Oilers have appeared in the GLIAC Tournament five times in their history. They sport a 3-5 record in tournament play.
Helpful Links
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