Oilers can't keep up with Cavs, fall 72-59

Through the first 20 minutes of Saturday's game against Walsh, the University of Findlay — despite trailing 38-32— probably felt as if it could make a comeback in the second half. After getting down 30-21 with 4:20 left in the first half, the Oilers closed the half on an 11-8 run. That momentum wasn't able to carry over into the last 20 minutes, though, as the Oilers dropped their third straight, losing to the Cavaliers, 72-59. "They were a little bit more aggressive in the second half, offensively and defensively," UF head coach Jim Wiedie said. "They're a really good team, they may be the highest-scoring team in our league or pretty close the Ashland. To have them at 72 (points) and in the 60s before we had to foul (isn't bad)." The slim lead the Cavs had heading into the second half, ballooned in the third quarter thanks to an 11-point third from Sha Carter and 19 in the half. The senior finished with a game-high 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. "I thought we did a good job in the second half of not settling. I thought in the first quarter, we didn't settle and in the third quarter, we didn't settle," Walsh head coach Kate Bruce said. "They (Findlay) do a great job protecting the rim and using their length, and I thought we were okay with just shooting threes. "In the third quarter, A, we made plays to get easy points, but B, instead of taking that first shot, we moved the ball around and went in and out and then shot it." The Oilers (5-9, 3-5 G-MAC) struggled mightily to hang onto the ball Saturday, turning the ball over 25 times, 14 in the second half. "I know we didn't shoot the ball great from the perimeter — which has been a problem all year long — but 25 turnovers isn't good," Wiedie said. "You're playing one of the best teams in the league — and I don't care if you're playing the top team in the league or one of the bottom teams — if you turn the ball over 25 times, there's absolutely nothing from a coaching standpoint we can do to make up for those possessions. It's just something we continue to do." It certainly didn't make things any easier that UF's senior point guard, Amber Schweiger, didn't play most of the game due to foul trouble. Schweiger picked up two fouls in the first quarter, didn't play in the second quarter and was called for a third foul early in the third. She finished with just 11 minutes logged and five points scored "Amber's our starting point guard, a leader, a captain and her presence kind of calms everybody down," Wiedie said of her absence. "Anytime you're missing a key player—a starter, in particular—it's going to have an impact on your team. Unfortunately, it was just one of those days where she couldn't be out there the majority of the time." Kate Ellis paced the Oilers with a career-high 16 points off the bench. WALSH (10-3, 5-2 G-MAC) Sales 7-14 0-0 14, Scarton 1-2 2-2 4, Carter 8-18 6-6 25, McMillen 4-12 2-2 11, Ball 0-4 2-2, Darnell 0-2 1-2 1, Hickey 2-4 0-0 6, Dean 2-4 0-0 6, Schmeltz 1-2 0-0 3. TOTALS: 25-62 9-24 72. FINDLAY (5-9, 3-5 G-MAC) Landin 3-8 3-3 10, Kin 6-8 3-4 15, Cooke 0-2 0-0 0, Schweiger 1-3 2-2 5, Hoying 3-9 0-0 7, Hapgood 0-5 1-2 1, Sammarone 0-1 0-0 0, Ellis 5-6 5-6 16, Bellman 1-1 0-0 3, Callahan 1-2 0-0 2. TOTALS: 20-45 14-17 59. Walsh 23 15 15 19—72 Findlay 16 16 7 20—59 3-POINT GOALS: Walsh 9-24 (Sales 0-1, Scarton 0-1, Carter 3-4, McMillen 1-9, Ball 0-1, Darnell 0-1, Hickey 2-3, Dean 2-2, Schmeltz 1-2); Findlay 5-15 (Landin 1-3, Kin 0-1, Cooke 0-1, Schweiger 1-1, Hoying 1-4, Hapgood 0-3, Ellis 1-1, Bellman 1-1). REBOUNDS: Walsh 34 (Carter 8, Sales 7); Findlay 27 (Landin 5). ASSISTS: Walsh 14 (Carter 5); Findlay 12 (Schweiger 3). BLOCKS: Walsh 6 (Carter 2); Findlay 4. STEALS: Walsh 11 (McMillen 3); Findlay 10 (Landin 2, Kin 2, Hoying 2). TURNOVERS: Walsh 16; Findlay 25.