Third Quarter Lifts #25 Oilers in Painesville
Painesville, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team followed up their only conference loss of the season with a dominating victory in Painesville, Ohio on Saturday, Jan. 6. Ranked no. 25 in the country, the Oilers used a big second half to cruise past the Storm of Lake Erie by a score of 83-62. With the win, Findlay is now 13-2 overall and has a 10-1 record in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while the loss drops the Storm to 7-6 overall with a 4-4 mark in league play. By virtue of an Ursuline College loss to Hillsdale on Saturday, the Oilers have regained their position atop the conference.
Findlay got off to a slow start and actually trailed by three points through the first quarter, but rallied back to take a one-point lead into the half at 31-30. The Oilers asserted their dominance in opening minutes of the third quarter as the Orange and Black exploded out of the locker room with a 15-2 run in the first five minutes. Ultimately, Findlay would outscore the Storm 27-11 in the third quarter which helped the no. 25 team in the country cruise to a 21-point victory.
The Oilers shot 31-of-64 (48.4%) from the floor, slightly better than the Storm who canned 26-of-64 (40.6%). Findlay returned to form as they drained 13-of-27 from beyond the three-point line. As well as the Oilers shoot from deep, it is the first time this season that Findlay has attempted more threes than an opponent as Lake Erie shot just 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Findlay held a slight 38-34 edge on the boards, but held a major advantage when it came to sharing the ball. The Oilers dished out 22 assists while the Storm managed just 11.
Junior Anna Hintz led Findlay in scoring as she poured in 19 points on 8-of-14 from the floor. She was second on the squad with seven rebounds while junior Jenna Stegmaier tied a career-high with 12 boards. Stegmaier recorded her second double-double of the season as she contributed 14 points on 5-of-6 from the field. She nearly finished with a triple-double, adding a career-high seven assists.
Senior Lynsey Englebrecht scored 18 points for Findlay, all of which came from beyond the arc. She made 6-of-14 from deep. Her 14 three-point attempts tie Maddie Gompers (2008) and Clare Aubry (2011) for the most threes attempted in a game in school history.
Junior Elissa Ellerbrock scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds, and had three assists while senior Haley Horstman contributed seven points and three assists.
The Storm received a noteworthy effort from the league's leading scorer, Kayla Gabor, who scored 23 points and also corralled a game-high 15 rebounds.
Findlay will be off until next Saturday, Jan. 13 when they will travel to Hillsdale to battle the Chargers.