Oilers to Tangle with Blue Knights in Home Opener
The Game
Findlay will play their home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 21 when they welcome the Urbana Blue Knights out of the Mountain East Conference (MEC). The Oilers' first game in Croy this season will tip off at 5:30 pm.
Sights and Sounds
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Series Information
The Oilers have been dominant in the series with Urbana, winning 30 of the 36 matchups with the Blue Knights. The teams first met in the 1978-79 season, Findlay's first women's basketball season, with the Oilers earning a 56-39 victory which was just one of two wins that season.
It has been almost six years since the two teams met up as their last meeting was Dec. 19, 2012. That game, played in Urbana, was an 81-77 overtime loss for the Oilers who would finish the year 24-6 with a GLIAC Tournament Runner-Up finish and first round exit in the Midwest Regional.
Findlay held a 66-63 lead with 30 seconds to play when Urbana's Ciara Geiger, who would later transfer to Findlay, hit a triple with eight seconds left to send the game to overtime.
In that game against Urbana, Kayla Brown led Findlay with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Geiger led the way for the Blue Knights with 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Findlay (1-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
Findlay opened the season with a pair of exhibition contests against NCAA Division I opponents in Michigan and Toledo. The Oilers took Toledo to overtime before beating Ohio Wesleyan in their final tune-up of the preseason. A 71-51 victory over Wayne State 11 days ago was their only contest of the regular season thus far.
In that game, senior Anna Hintz picked up right where she left off last season as she scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to secure her 16th career double-double. She also had three steals and three blocks in the win and subsequently earned G-MAC Player of the Week. Hintz is just seven points shy of becoming the 23rd person to join the 1,000-point club.
Coming off a season of injury, senior Lauren Ruth proved to be a threat from deep as she canned four-of-nine from beyond the arc. She scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds while senior Allie Thobe set a career-high with six assists.
The 2018-19 Oilers squad has plenty of experience as the team has ten seniors, many of whom will play significant minutes this season.
Urbana Blue Knights (0-3, 0-0 MEC)
The Blue Knights have started the season with three consecutive losses. Urbana has been struggling as of late as they are without a winning season since 2013-14 when the team finished 18-10 overall. Last season, Urbana finished 12-15 overall and ended the year with a first-round exit in the MEC Tournament to Charleston, 68-48.
In the MEC Preseason Poll, the Blue Knights were selected to finish eighth in the 12-team league. UVa-Wise, which defeated Urbana by 20 points earlier this season, was picked last in the league while Glenville St. was chosen as the favorite.
Junior Sylvia Hudson enters the game as the Blue Knights leading scorer, pouring in 17.7 points per game and is coming off a 27-point performance against Concord on Monday. The eighth-leading scorer in the MEC, Hudson is also securing 8.0 rebounds per game and has one double-double on the year (Nov. 17 vs. UVa-Wise). Also scoring in double-figures are Megan Beachy and Nikki Current who are contributing 13.0 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. That trio is responsible for 42 of Urbana's 63.5 points per game. Current has been the best deep threat for Urbana this year as she has knocked in 7-of-14 (.500) from long range.
Freshman Kami McEldowney leads the team with 3.0 assists per game and is also scoring 6.3 points per game. The newcomer from Versailles is getting significant playing time in her debut campaign as she has been on the court for an average of 25.3 minutes per game.
Helpful Links
NCAA
NCAA Division II Stats
Women's Basketball Coaches Association
G-MAC
NCAA Division II Basketball