Findlay Wins Battle with Reigning G-MAC Champ
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team took one of last season's Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) regular season co-champions on Thursday, Jan. 9 in Croy Gymnasium. The Oilers welcomed the Cedarville Yellow Jackets to Findlay in a battle of two of the top teams in the current league standings. Both teams battled, but in the end it was the Oilers who came away with the 70-67 victory to improve to 9-7 overall, but more importantly, 5-1 in G-MAC play. The loss was just the fourth of the year for Cedarville who now sits at 11-4 and have a 4-2 record in the conference.
Cedarville's strategy was apparent early on; if there was an open shot, take it. That was especially true from behind the three-point line where, in the opening quarter alone, the Yellow Jackets to 12 of their 18 shots.
Findlay trailed at the half, but only by two points.
Where the game started to turn was coming out of the half. Cedarville went on an 8-0 run to take a 45-35 advantage three minutes into the second half. Findlay then went on a 15-5 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 50 and seconds later took their first lead since the six-minute mark in the first quarter.
In the final frame, Findlay and Cedarville went back-and-forth, exchanging baskets to the tune of ten lead changes in the final ten minutes alone.
Tied at 67, the Oilers forced a missed three by Cedarville and on the ensuing offensive possession, senior Lauren Ruth hit a jumper to give Findlay the lead for good.
Down three with three seconds on the clock, Cedarville's Abby Wolford had a shot to tie at the buzzer, but the ball bounced off the back iron, sealing the win for the Orange and Black.
Neither team shot the ball very well as Findlay hit on 38 percent of their shots and Cedarville hit 37 percent. By game's end, Cedarville had take 45 three point attempts, making 16. Those three point attempts accounted for 73 percent of their shots.
Findlay held a 43-33 advantage on the glass and forced the Yellow Jackets into 17 turnovers while committing just 13 turnovers of their own.
Leading the nation in free throws made, Findlay again turned in a solid performance at the line, and it paid off. The Oilers made 20-of-24 from the charity stripe while the Yellow Jackets hit just 5-of-6.
Sophomore Sydney Kin, the reigning G-MAC Player of the Week, turned in another special performance, scoring 16 points and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds. Kin, who had a double-double at halftime, hit all five of her free-throw attempts and had a pair of blocks.
Off the bench, sophomore Bridget Landin scored 15 points on 6-of-8 from the floor while senior Lauren Ruth scored 13 points on an equally efficient 4-of-6 from the floor. Landin had six rebounds and two steals while Ruth had three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Sophomore guard Amber Schweiger scored 12 points that included 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. She led the Oilers with five assists.
Findlay will hit the road on Saturday, Jan. 11 when they will take on the Tiffin Dragons. That game will tip off at 1:00 pm.