Oilers Drop Season Opener at Northwood
Midland, Mich. - College basketball returned on Friday, Nov. 12 as the University of Findlay women's basketball team opened up the 2021-22 season with a trip to take on Northwood University. The game was close throughout, featuring eight ties and ten lead changes, but it was the Timberwolves who pulled away late to earn an 84-74 victory.
Findlay held a 31-29 lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter, but a 14-4 run over that final span gave the Timberwolves an eight point lead at halftime at 43-35.
The Oilers were able to make up the difference as they battled back to take a 57-55 lead in the first six minutes of the second half. However, Northwood would outscore Findlay 29-17 over the remainder of the game to take the ten-point victory.
Turnovers haunted Findlay in the game as the Oilers coughed the ball up 17 times, leading to 23 points off turnovers for Northwood. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, had just 11 turnovers which turned into 13 points for Findlay.
Findlay held a slight edge on the glass, outrebounding NU 40-to-38, and dominated from in close, scoring 40 points in the paint to just 22 for Northwood. A big difference in the outcome came from behind the arc where Northwood connected on 12-of-32 attempts while the Oilers made five triples on 15 attempts.
Senior Sydney Kin was the Oilers' leading scorer as she began the year with a double-double, scoring 20 points on 7-of-8 from the floor and grabbing 11 rebounds, both team highs. Kin also converted on 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Junior Lauren Hapgood made her debut in the starting lineup for Findlay, scoring the first 15 points of her career at UF in the strength of three made triples. She added three assists. Junior Serena Sammarone led Findlay in that category, dishing out four assists.
Freshman Chloe Callahan got her first taste of college basketball for the Oilers and scored ten points while senior Paige Bellman scored six points and was second on the team with ten rebounds.
Senior Bridget Landin had a solid overall performance, as well, scoring eight points, grabbing nine rebounds, and adding three assists.
Findlay will be back in action tomorrow as they take on Saginaw Valley State University in University Center, Michigan. That game will tip off at 1:00 pm.