Findlay Wraps Up Exhibition Slate with Loss at Purdue
West Lafayette, IN – The University of Findlay women's basketball team wrapped up their preseason slate of games on Sunday, Nov. 7 with a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on Division I Purdue University in Mackey Arena. Playing with just eight players due to COVID protocols, the Oilers fell by a score of 89-64 to their Big Ten opponent, ending the exhibition season with a 1-2 record, both losses coming to major Division I competition.
Findlay never had a lead in a game that was last tied at 4-4 just under two and a half minutes into the game. Purdue then went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 14-4 lead. Despite that run, Findlay trailed by just nine after the first quarter of play.
The Boilermakers opened the second quarter on a mission, however, outscoring the Oilers 12-2 in the first two and a half minutes to take a 38-16 lead. Again, Findlay calmed the storm and, after a 6-0 run of their own thanks to back-to-back triples from junior Lauren Hapgood and sophomore Kendyl Mick, the Oilers cut the lead to 42-26.
After falling behind by as many as 24 to start the second half, Findlay outscored Purdue 21-18 in the third quarter and trailed 64-48 with just ten minutes to play. A 9-0 run by the home team put the game out of reach for the Oilers.
As was the case against the Cincinnati Bearcats last Wednesday, turnovers haunted Findlay on Sunday against the Boilermakers. The Oilers turned the ball over 25 times which turned into 20 points for Purdue. The Boilermakers also took advantage of 20 offensive rebounds which turned into 18 second chance points.
Findlay shot the ball at nearly 44%, making 21-of-48 from the floor including 6-of-12 (.500) from three point range. Purdue did not shy away from the deep ball as they launched 36 triple tries, making 12. The Oilers did get to the free throw line at a high rate, making 16-of-24 from the charity stripe compared to just 9-of-11 for Purdue.
Junior Serena Sammarone was the leading scorer for Findlay as she made 6-of-10 field goal tries, including a triple, and 2-of-4 free throws to score 15 points. Sammarone, who played 26 minutes on Sunday, also had two rebounds and two assists
Junior Lauren Hapgood finished the game with 13 points, ten of which came in the second half. Her points came on the strength of a 4-of-7 performance from beyond the arc.
Senior Bridget Landin and senior Sydney Kin scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Landin also added five rebounds while Kin had six. Findlay's leading rebounder was senior Paige Bellman who grabbed eight boards and scored nine points off the bench.
Findlay will open up its regular season on Friday, Nov. 12 with a trip to Northwood. That game will start at 5:00 pm in Midland, Michigan.