Hot Shooting Propels Oilers to Eighth Straight Win
Columbus, Ohio – For the first time since the 2012-13 season, the University of Findlay women's basketball team is on an eight-game win streak following an 85-72 victory over Ohio Dominican on Wednesday, Dec. 13. With the win, the Oilers improve to 8-1 overall and remain atop the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) with a perfect 5-0 mark. With the loss, the Panthers drop to 6-3 overall with a 3-1 mark in league play, falling from the ranks of the conference's undefeated teams.
The Oilers jumped out to a 6-2 lead before a short run from ODU put the home team ahead 8-6. Later trailing 12-11, Christa Puthoff would make a layup to put the Oilers back in front, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. Findlay used a 9-0 run to help close the quarter with a 24-17 lead.
Findlay did not let up as they would outscore the Panthers 26-20 in the second quarter to take a 50-37 lead into the break. The 50 points are the most scored in a half this season by the Oilers, who shot 60.6% in the first half including making 5-of-8 from deep (62.5%).
The largest lead of the game for the Oilers would come in the third quarter when, with 2:07 remaining in the period, Puthoff made and old fashioned three-point play that gave the Orange and Black a 66-43 lead. The Panthers' comeback effort saw the Black and Gold pull to within 12 points with 3:15 to play in the contest, but back-to-back triples by the Oilers sealed the victory, the second consecutive trip to Columbus in which Findlay has come away with the victory.
For the sixth time this season, junior Anna Hintz, senior Lynsey Englebrecht, and senior Haley Horstman all reached double-figures. Hintz and Ennglebrecht each scored 20 points while Horstman poured in 12.
Hintz, who scored the first six points of the game for Findlay, shot 7-of-9 from the floor and made a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and swatting two shots. Englebrecht tied a career-high with six shots made from deep in ten attempts. She shot 7-of-12 from the floor, tied a career-high with three steals, and tied for the team lead with four assists. Horstman, the final Oiler scoring in double-figures, made 5-of-15 from the floor and made 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. She contributed four assists and three rebounds in a winning effort.
Junior Elissa Ellerbrock set a new career-high with six assists, the most assists by an Oilers player this season. She also scored nine points while junior Jenna Stegmaier scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, and had two steals.
As a team, Findlay finished with a season-high 23 assists while turning the ball over just 14 times. The Oilers, which rank third in the country in shooting percentage, outshot the Panthers 52.5% (31-of-59) to 46.6% (27-of-58) and were on fire from deep, making 11-of-22 three point attempts. It was the most three-pointers made in a game since Findlay made ten against the Panthers in Columbus last season.
Findlay will face their biggest test to date as they take on 8-1 (3-0 G-MAC) opponent, No. 22 Cedarville on Saturday, Dec. 16. That matchup, which will tip off at 2:00 pm in Cedarville, OH, will feature the two best records in the league thus far.