Thobe/Oilers Steal a Road Win in Painesville
Painesville, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team hung on for the win at Lake Erie College on Thursday, Feb. 14. A close game throughout, it was the Oilers who came away with a 67-57 victory to improve to 16-6 on the year and 12-5 in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while the Storm fall to 11-11 with an 8-9 record in the league.
Findlay jumped out to a 12-2 lead just five minutes into the game but the Storm battled back and eventually took their first lead at 25-23 with two minutes remaining in the first half. From that point until there were five minutes left in the game, neither team had a lead of more than three points.
Lake Erie cut Findlay's lead to 52-51 with 6:30 left to play, but the Oilers flexed their muscle for the remainder of the game as they went on a 15-6 run to seal the victory.
Findlay hit 26-of-58 from the floor (.448) including just three made triples in ten tries. The Storm only managed to make 20-of-49 (.408) while connecting on 7-of-18 from deep. Lake Erie also held a slight edge on the boards, grabbing 35 rebounds to 32 for the Oilers, and in assists, collecting 14 to just eight for Findlay. In a game that featured seven ties and eight lead changes, turnovers were a big factor. Findlay committed 11 turnovers but forced the Storm into 19.
Senior Anna Hintz played well for Findlay as she recorded her 11th double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and grabbing ten rebounds. She also became just the second player in Findlay history to collect 800+ rebounds in her career and is now just 13 points shy of becoming the third all-time leading scorer in school history. Hintz also added a pair of blocks in the game.
Senior Allie Thobe nearly had a double-double as well as she scored 16 points and set a new career-high with eight steals, two shy of the school record. Thobe also chipped in four rebounds and an assist.
Seniors Elissa Ellerbrock and Jenna Stegmaier scored 13 and ten points, apiece, and combined for 5-of-9 from the floor.
Findlay will head to Pepper Pike, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 16 to tangle with Ursuline College.