UF women roll to eight straight victory

FINDLAY– The University of Findlay women's basketball team was only up one point after the opening quarter, before a big second-quarter stretch broke the game open and led to yet another G-MAC win. The Oilers held on to defeat the Tiffin Dragons 74-61 on Saturday, despite some late-game comeback attempts by the Dragons. Findlay outscored Tiffin 19-6 in the second quarter, taking a 32-18 advantage into the break. "I think we made some shots, got out and ran a little bit," Oilers coach Michele Durand said. "I think that was helpful in transition, and we got some stops. It really starts on the defensive end. We didn't do a great job in the second half with that, but our zone really helped us in the first half, they didn't make a lot of shots."Findlay won the third quarter by just four points, before Tiffin outscored the Oilers 27-22 in the fourth to mount a comeback. The Oilers held up, however, notching their eighth consecutive conference victory. Ariyah Douglas, who has averaged nearly 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 steals over Findlay's eight-game stretch, was the Oilers' leading scorer on Saturday. The graduate senior guard finished with 17 points, three rebounds, and two blocks off the bench, hitting a trio of shots from beyond the arc."Ariyah can do anything," Durand said. "She's a really good passer, she sees the floor, she can score it. We really needed her today.""Ariyah is a really good basketball player," Durand continued. "She has a high IQ, and she's willing to share the ball. She makes a lot of things happen."Combo guard Allie Stockton ended with a double-double, posting 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in a team-high 35 minutes. Forward Alyssa Ziehler moved up to 14th on the UF women's basketball all-time scoring list on Saturday, registering 12 points along with 10 boards and three blocks. Ziehler has scored 1201 points as an Oiler, and sits 38 points from 13th place. Point guard Taylor Stanley ended with nine points, three rebounds, and two assists. "I think our ability to share the ball, and just the type of defense they were playing, it opened up a lot of things that we usually don't see, game to game," Stanley said. "So, just taking advantage of the disadvantages of their defense, and just exploiting that and converting on the other end."Center Ella Mescher had eight points and three rebounds. MacKenzie Schulz tallied six points and three rebounds on two made triples, while Columbus Grove graduate Lauryn Auchmuty tacked on four points in just 12 minutes. Forward Addisyn Freeman, who last played on January 10, returned to the lineup in limited minutes, scoring two points in six minutes off the bench. Freeman was a starter before she went down with an injury and will be another key piece added to a red-hot Oiler unit. Sharpshooter Morgan Campbell hit four three-pointers, scoring 17 to lead the Dragons. Serenitee Johnson recorded 11 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Isabelle Niederst had 10 points and two steals, going 5-of-11 from the floor. Forward Garyana Overton tacked on nine points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. "We gutted this one out," Durand said. "It wasn't pretty. I didn't think we played the best offensively, but maybe that was because of Tiffin's defense. But it was a good win, against a good team. To me, we're playing well, and we're playing confidently. Now, we've got a really tough road game. We'll get back to work on Monday.""Really confident," Stanley added. "I think after playing everybody in the conference, we know we can compete with anybody. Just bringing it game in and game out, our confidence has really grown. Of course, winning eight games in a row helps with that, but I think we have confidence in each other. Our team, our coaches, everybody."Now on an eight-game streak and with a 10-5 G-MAC record, the 14-8 Oilers will be on the road on Thursday at Northwood (18-5, 14-1 G-MAC). The Oilers and Timberwolves will both be coming into Thursday's game on eight-game winning streaks. TIFFINCampbell 5-3–17, Johnson 4-2–11, Niederst 5-0–10, Overton 4-0–9, Richardson 3-1–7, Unger 1-2–4, Kelley 1-0–3. TOTALS: 23-8–61. FINDLAYDouglas 7-0–17, Stockton 4-5–14, Ziehler 3-6–12, Stanley 2-4–9, Mescher 3-2–8, Schulz 2-0–6, Auchmuty 1-2–4, Freeman 0-2–2, Huffman 0-2–2. TOTALS: 22-23–74.Tiffin 12 6 16 27–61Findlay 13 19 20 22–74THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Tiffin 7-24 (Campbell 4); Findlay 7-22 (Douglas 3).REBOUNDS: Tiffin 32 (Overton 7); Findlay 37 (Stockton, Ziehler 10).TURNOVERS: Tiffin 17, Findlay 12.