Streak Ends in Painesville
Painesville, OH – The University of Findlay women's basketball team ended their three-game win streak on the road on Saturday, Feb. 11. Lake Erie College, previously on a seven-game losing streak, led from tipoff to the final buzzer as they took down the Oilers by a score of 74-69 to give Findlay a 12-13 record on the year and 6-11 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
After five minutes, the Storm had jumped out to a 12-3 lead and would end the first quarter ahead 21-13. Findlay hit a three out of the gate to pull within five but would not get any closer in the half with Lake Erie hitting on all cylinders to the tune of a 39-27 halftime lead.
Findlay did not cut the lead to less than ten points until 30 seconds into the final quarter, a layup that made the score 53-45 with nine and a half to play, but Lake Erie got the double-digit lead back and kept it at ten or more until the final minute. In that final minute, with the score at 66-54, the teams combined for 15 free throws and Findlay was able to cut the lead to five points, but it wasn't enough as the Storm would earn the win.
Findlay shot 34.8%, their lowest shooting percentage since Dec. 17, from the floor making 23-of-66 shots including 28.6% (8-of-28) from deep. On the other side, the Storm shot their best percentage in seven games as they connected on 26-of-60 for 43.3%.
The Storm won the battle of the boards as they outrebounded Findlay 46-36. 14 of those rebounds for Lake Erie were on the offensive side which led to 15 second-chance points.
Junior Haley Horstman and junior Lynsey Englebrecht each scored 14 points to lead the Oilers offense. Horstman made 6-of-13 from the floor including a pair of triples on three attempts, grabbed six rebounds, had three steals, and dished out a pair of assists while playing 33 minutes of turnover-free basketball. Englebrecht scored her 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-6 from deep.
Sophomore Elissa Ellerbrock had her second double-digit point total of the week as she scored ten points on 2-of-9 from the floor. She hit 5-of-7 from the charity stripe, grabbed three rebounds, and had three assists.
Sophomore Anna Hintz set a career-high with 14 rebounds in the game to go along with five points.
Findlay returns home for their final home contests next week. Tiffin will come to Croy on Thursday, Feb. 16 for the annual Make-A-Wish game and #1 Ashland will come on Saturday, Feb. 18. Those games begin at 5:30pm and 1:30pm, respectively.