Oilers Use 21-0 Run to Upset Walsh in G-MAC Quarterfinal
North Canton, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team entered the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) tournament as the sixth seed and faced the third-seeded Walsh Cavaliers on Tuesday, March 2 in North Canton, Ohio. The Oilers trailed by 19 points with just under 19 minutes remaining the in game but battled back to earn the tournament victory and keep their season alive in the win-or-go-home contest. With the win, the Oilers continue their 2020-21 season with a 12-10 record while Walsh, the preseason favorite to win the conference, likely ends their season with a 16-6 record, although they remain one of the regional "teams under consideration" released by the NCAA earlier this week.
Tuesday's quarterfinal was a tale of two halves as the Cavaliers looked to be in total control early on in the contest. Through ten minutes the Oilers found themselves down 14 after allowing 27 points to the home Cavaliers. Just one minute into the second quarter, that lead ballooned to 19 points, but Findlay did end up outscoring the home team in that frame, but still trailed by 12 at the break.
A pair of free throws by junior Amber Schweiger with just under three minutes in the third remaining cut the Walsh lead to 13. Walsh made a free throw with 2:04 left in the third to make that lead 51-37.
Then the Oilers got hot.
Over the next nine and a half minutes, Findlay did not allow the Cavs to score a point. In that stretch, the Oilers went on a 21-0 run to take a 58-51 lead with two and a half minutes to play.
The teams traded free throws down the stretch, leading to a final score of 63-58 with the Oilers on top.
Junior Sydney Kin, the G-MAC's top scorer, paced the Oilers with 28 points on 13-of-20 from the floor. She also grabbed eight rebounds.
Junior Amber Schweiger had her third 20+ point performance, scoring 20 points on the strength 11-of-17 from the charity stripe. She added six assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
Junior Paige Bellman chipped in nine points and led the team with 13 rebounds. Junior Bridget Landin scored three points and had six rebounds but did not play in the second half after exiting due to an eye injury.
Walsh's Lexie Scarton was the team's high scorer as she scored 19 points, all of which came in the first half. Megan Ball scored 10 and reining G-MAC Player of the Year Quionche Carter scored nine and had 11 rebounds.
The Oilers will head to Cedarville, Ohio on Friday, March 5 where they will take on the second-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers.
