Bellman's Big Debut Leads Oilers in Season Opening Win
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team kicked off the 2019-20 regular season at home on Friday, Nov. 8 in Croy Gymnasium. Findlay welcomed Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member Northwood University to town and earned a 71-61 win over the Timberwolves. The Oilers, who had not begun a season at home since 2012, have now won back-to-back season openers and begin the year 1-0 while Northwood, also playing their first game, begins the year 0-1.
The Oilers, full of new faces after nine players graduated from last year's squad, never trailed in the contest, although their halftime lead was just by a single point at 36-35.
Findlay opened up the half with a 17-5 run to create some separation, taking a 52-40 lead with 2:27 to play in the third quarter.
Northwood would cut that lead to five, climbing back into the game at 58-53 with just over nine minutes to play, but it was not enough as the Oilers held off the comeback to secure the win, the 98th of Head Coach Jim Wiedie's career.
Findlay hit 21-of-52 shots in the game to shoot 40% while Northwood made just 22-of-60 for 36.7%. The Oilers hit six shots from deep and finished +15 on the boards, outrebounding the Timberwolves 44-to-29.
Free throws played a big part of the outcome as Findlay connected on 23-of-29 from the charity stripe while Northwood managed to shoot just 13 free throws, making eight.
Without last year's conference Player of the Year and walking double-double Anna Hintz in the lineup, sophomore Paige Bellman, a transfer from Detroit Mercy, came off the bench and posted a double-double in her first game in the Orange and Black. Bellman scored 15 points in the game, ten of which came in the second half, and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. She also added four assists and a team-high two blocks.
Sophomore Bridget Landin finished one point shy of her career-best, scoring nine points on 4-of-8 from the floor. She grabbed four boards and had three assists.
With eight points in the game were sophomore Lilly Simon and junior Allison Utterback. Simon had five rebounds and hit five free throws while Utterback led the team with a pair of triples made.
Sophomore Amber Schweiger, junior Madson Stolly, and freshman Elizabeth Flynn all chipped in seven points in the win.
Findlay will be back in action against another GLIAC opponent in Saginaw Valley State on Sunday, Nov. 10. That game will tip off at 2:00 pm.
