Findlay Drops Road Game | Lose to Cedarville 58-55
Cedarville, Ohio- The University of Findlay completed their slate of road contests as they faced Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) opponent Cedarville University on Saturday, Jan. 7. Despite the Oilers leading the game for 32 minutes, the Yellow Jackets rallied late to give themselves a 58-55 victory. The Oilers fall to 4-11 on the season and 1-6 in the G-MAC as the Yellow Jackets improve to 4-9 and 2-5 in conference play.
The first half saw an early Oiler lead as they pulled out from the Yellow Jackets 15-9 through the first ten minutes of play. Cedarville outscored the Oilers 18-13 in the second quarter but Findlay still held a one point lead heading into halftime. This was the first lead the Oilers held at the half since traveling to Hillsdale on Dec. 13.
The third quarter was back-and-forth as Findlay grew their lead by just one, leading by two entering the final ten minutes of play. The Oilers led by seven with 2:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. Cedarville put together a 9-4 rally to lead Findlay by one with 14 seconds on the clock. After a timeout, the Oilers took the floor needing two points to seal the win. A missed layup and lack of a foul call turned the ball back over to the home team. Cedarville then made back-to-back free throws to leave Findlay down by three with five seconds remaining. A last chance three came up short but was put back by Kate Ellis to put the Oilers down by one with less than a second on the clock. In a last ditch effort, Findlay fouled Cedarville but was unable to convert a shot well behind half-court for the tie.
On the day, the Oilers connected on 22-of-66 (.333) from the floor including 6-of-20 (.300) from deep. Cedarville connected on 19-of-55 (.345) from the field and 6-of-29 (.207) from three-point range. The Oilers struggled from the charity stripe today. Making just 5-of-12 (.417) compared to Cedarville 14-of-15 (.933).
Most notably, the Oilers were able to limit turnovers today, recording just 10, the least amount they have recorded in that statistic this season.
Sophomore Kate Ellis led the way with 20 points, making 8-of-13 from the floor and going a perfect 3-of-3 from deep. She led the team with four assists while also grabbing nine rebounds. Leading the Oilers in rebounds was senior Serena Sammarone who grabbed 14 boards while also chipping in seven points.
Junior Valerie Muhlenkamp recorded ten points and eight rebounds in the contest.
The Oilers are back in action Thursday, Jan. 12 where they welcome Kentucky Wesleyan to Croy Gymnasium at 5:30pm.