Senior Night Spoiled with Late Run by Walsh
Findlay, Ohio - The University of Findlay women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker on Thursday, Feb. 11 at the hands of the Walsh University Cavaliers by a final score of 71-67. Findlay had a late lead, but Walsh closed the contest on a 13-0 run over the final four minutes and eighteen seconds to steal the road victory. With the loss, the Oilers fall to 9-9 while Walsh improves to 11-4.
Allowing parents of the players into Croy for Senior Night, Findlay was finally able to play in front of a small home crowd. The Oilers fed off that energy for much of the game and, despite trailing 26-23 at the half, used a 14-4 run midway through the fourth quarter to take a ten-point lead. That run was emphasized by a three-pointer by senior Allison Utterback followed by a quick timeout from Walsh.
That energy quickly turned. Leading by a score of 67-58 with 4:18 to play, the Oilers were held scoreless for the remainder of the game as they went 0-for-4 and turned the ball over six times on their final ten possessions. Over that span, Walsh would score 13 points, including a steal and buzzer-beating layup to give the Cavs the four-point win.
Findlay shot 49.1% (27-of-55) in the game while Walsh hit on 42.3% (30-of-71) of their shots. The Oilers held a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding Walsh 40-to-30, but turned the ball over 23 times while forcing just nine. The Cavs scored 24 points off Findlay turnovers while the Oilers managed just nine points off turnovers.
Junior Sydney Kin led Findlay with 15 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 7-of-16. Midway through the third quarter, Kin grabbed a rebound that gave her 500 for her career. The Carey, Ohio native is also now just five points away from 1,000 for her career.
Junior Paige Bellman recorded a double-double, as well, as she scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds and two blocks while fellow junior Amber Schweiger scored 14 points, had ten assists, and three steals. Senior Allison Utterback, who averaged 18 points per game in her previous five games, scored nine points on three triples, had five assists, and two rebounds.
The Oilers will now head to Canton, Ohio to take on Malone this coming Saturday, Feb. 13. That game will tip-off at 1:00 pm.
