UF women push win streak to seven

The University of Findlay women's basketball team has only lost two games all year. That might sound like a stretch, but the Oilers are 8-2 since Jan. 1, continuing to impress and move up the G-MAC leaderboard.Findlay's lineup change, inserting backup center Ella Mescher into the starting five next to top-scoring forward Alyssa Ziehler, has led to an avalanche of wins. The Oilers' double-big lineup has been a nightmare for opposing teams, allowing for both Mescher and Ziehler to take full advantage inside."It's been four years, and we've never really seen the court together," Mescher said. "Maybe 30 seconds here or there, but, it's been great. It's been fun playing with her, you know. We're roommates, best friends, so it's been a lot of fun."The Oilers recorded their seventh-straight victory on Thursday with an 81-72 victory over Ursuline College at home. The Arrows were able to take an early lead in Thursday's game, as they led for the majority of the first quarter. The Oilers tied things up at 16 before taking their first lead, 18-16, as the first quarter came to a close on a Sophie Huffman layup as time expired. The Arrows scored first to open the second, once again knotting things up. This, however, was the last time Ursuline came close to overcoming the Oilers. Findlay responded to Ursuline's early second-quarter score with a 9-0 run, and maintained that advantage for a 39-30 halftime lead. The third quarter saw Ursuline and Findlay trade baskets back and forth, with neither team able to miss, both inside the arc and outside. Findlay's third quarter was highlighted by junior MacKenzie Schulz, who knocked down a trio of long-range shots. Findlay led 64-54 after three, and held on for a nine-point victory. Ziehler, who climbed into 15th on the Oilers' all-time scoring list with Thursday's performance, dropped 22 points and 10 rebounds, going 10-of-17 from the floor in 29 minutes. Schulz ended 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, scoring 20 points and corralling six boards and two steals. Mescher finished with a season-high 10 points in 20 minutes, able to get virtually anything she wanted on the interior against mismatched defenders. "The coaches always tell me to be more aggressive offensively. When their big is guarding Alyssa, I have a smaller girl than me normally. Just having that aggressive mindset when going to the basket really helps.""I think they were really concerned with Alyssa," Oilers coach Michele Durand said. "So, that opened Ella up a little bit. Ella's being aggressive and driving, and she's pretty good at that."Guard Allie Stockton once again stuffed the stat sheet, going for eight points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 35 minutes. Grad student Ariyah Douglas also had eight points, along with four rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Columbus Grove alum Lauryn Auchmuty sank two three-pointers, tacking on eight as well. Huffman added four points and two steals off the bench. "I thought we played well offensively," Durand said. "I wasn't super happy with our defense, but I give Ursuline a lot of credit, because I thought they ran a lot of good stuff and they can really shoot."Courtney Barwick ended with a game-high 25 points for the Arrows, going 5-of-11 from three-point range. Brooke Haren seemingly couldn't miss from mid-range, shooting at an 8-of-11 clip for 18 points, five rebounds, and three assists in just 15 minutes. Destiny Dulkoski poured in 14 points and five rebounds. "We took pretty good care of the ball tonight, which is important for us," Durand added. "I think rebounding is the other area, both of those things have been better. That's allowed us to do better."The Oilers notched 10 steals as a team, and out-rebounded Ursuline 40-26, shooting 35-percent from downtown. Now up to 13-8 and 9-5 in the G-MAC, Findlay will put its streak on the line on Saturday, hosting the Tiffin Dragons at 1 in a G-MAC rivalry battle. "We've just gotta keep pushing," Mescher said. "We're looking forward to playing Tiffin again. It's our breast cancer awareness game, so super excited for that. We've gotta keep playing as a team. I feel like we're all seeing each other, making good passes, good reads. Our defense picks up, and we're right there."URSULINEBarwick 8-4–25, Haren 8-1–18, Dulkoski 6-0–14, Miles 5-1–11, Piscitelli 2-0–4. TOTALS: 29-6–72.FINDLAYZiehler 10-2–22, Schulz 7-2–20, Mescher 4-2–10, Stockton 3-1–8, Douglas 2-3–8, Auchmuty 3-0–8, Huffman 2-0–4, Stanley 0-1–1. TOTALS: 31-11–81.Ursuline 16 14 24 18–72Findlay 18 21 25 17–81THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Ursuline 8-20 (Barwick 5); Findlay 8-23 (Schulz 4).REBOUNDS: Ursuline 26 (Haren, Dulkoski 5); Findlay 40 (Stockton 12). TURNOVERS: Ursuline 14, Findlay 7.