Late Run Dooms Oilers in North Canton
North Canton, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's basketball team dropped their final regular season road contest of the season on Saturday, Feb. 3 against Walsh. The Oilers lost 77-73 to fall to 16-7 overall with a 13-4 mark in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play while the Cavs improved to 14-8 overall and 12-6 in the conference. It is the first time this season that Findlay has lost a game in which they held a lead at halftime.
Leading 35-31 after 20 minutes of play, Findlay came out in the first two minutes of the second half and built up their largest lead of the game, 11 points, at 44-33. Minutes later, the Oilers held a 48-39 lead but then began a 3-minute scoring drought which saw the Cavaliers go on an 8-0 run to pull within one point. The lead exchanged hands a pair of times and the Oilers eventually took a 58-53 lead into the final quarter.
With one minute to play, the Cavs buried a three-point shot to take a two point lead. After a timeout by the Oilers, the Cavs forced the Orange and Black into a shot clock violation when Lynsey Englebrecht, who was forced to shoot a contested three, had her shot attempt blocked. In the final 25 seconds, the Cavs drained a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line to ice the game and steal the victory at home.
Senior Haley Horstman, who was on the court for the entire 40 minutes of the game, led the Oilers with 19 points on 9-of-15 from the floor. She also grabbed four rebounds, had two assists, and led the squad with three steals.
Junior Anna Hintz recorded her 11th career double-double and first in a month with 18 points on 7-of-14 from the floor and 15 rebounds, which ties a career-high. Hintz notched three blocks in the loss.
Junior Jenna Stegmaier chipped in ten points to round out Findlay's double-digit scorers. She made a pair of shots from deep, grabbed one rebound, and had two assists.
Walsh held slight advantages in shooting percentage (48.2% to Findlay's 43.5%) and rebounds (35 to 33). Findlay forced 20 turnovers while committing just 11 of their own in the loss.
Findlay returns home for the remainder of the year as they look to secure a regular season conference title and earn the right to host the G-MAC Championship Tournament. That quest continues on Thursday, Feb. 8 when they host Lake Erie College in Croy Gymnasium. That game will tip off at 8:00pm.