Oilers pull off upset of Eagles

FINDLAY– For the first time since 2015, the University of Findlay's women's basketball team defeated the Ashland University Eagles. The Eagles, a team that won the Division II national championship in 2023, had won 16 consecutive games over the Oilers before Saturday's contest, which firmly placed Findlay ahead of Ashland in the G-MAC postseason tournament. Saturday's game was tightly contested, but the Oilers prevailed 74-71, and now turn their attention to the tournament for the second-straight season.The Oilers started hot, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. A 7-0 Ashland run followed shortly after, however, as things became knotted at 13. Findlay managed to respond, taking a 19-15 advantage into the second quarter. Despite not being able to hit from long range (0-4 in the second quarter), Findlay consistently took advantage of the Eagles inside, leading for most of the second. Ashland took its first lead of the game with one minute remaining in the first half, up 35-34, but a mid-range jumper from wing MacKenzie Schulz put the Oilers back in front, 36-35, at the break. A tightly-contested third quarter followed, with Findlay continuing to dominate the interior. Senior post players Alyssa Ziehler and Ella Mescher each registered four points in the third, and the scoreboard read 52-52 as the final quarter got underway. The fourth quarter saw the intensity from both units turned up a notch, as the Eagles wasted no time reclaiming the lead, going up 55-54 early. The teams passed the lead back and forth for several minutes, before Alyssa Ziehler decided to make her final performance in Croy Gymnasium a memorable one. Ziehler recorded eight points in the final quarter of her home college career, including the nail in Ashland's proverbial coffin. After a couple of fouls by Ashland to remain in striking distance, the Eagles had a chance to win or tie, down just two points with nine seconds remaining and with the ball coming out of bounds. The Eagles missed the first free throw, but connected on the latter, as Findlay looked to inbound the ball through tough defensive coverage. The Oilers managed to get it into junior point guard Taylor Stanley, who tossed it to a streaking Ziehler, who put in a layup right as time expired to reach 24 points, and tie for 12th all-time in the Findlay women's basketball scoring books. "All of our seniors were really good today," Oiler coach Michele Durand said. "They were all so good. Alyssa did what she does. She dominated."Ziehler paced the team with 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting, grabbing seven rebounds in 28 minutes. Combo guard Allie Stockton tallied 14 points and four rebounds. Schulz put up one of her most well-rounded stat lines of the year, going for 11 points, four boards, four assists, and two blocks on 5-for-11 shooting in a team-high 34 minutes.Mescher finished with seven points and six rebounds, while fellow senior Ariyah Douglas had seven points and two boards. Stanley also poured in seven, along with two assists and two steals. Addisyn Freeman tacked on four points and seven rebounds. "We played really, really good together," Durand said. "Just so proud. Thursday, we had a really bad shooting game, we came back and just really played hard today. Just so proud of us, and our seniors.""I'm just so proud of this team for beating Ashland," Ziehler said. "They have such a great program, and such a legacy over there at their school. To be able to come out on senior night, everyone played well. And, it was all about the seniors. That's exactly what our teammates did, and I couldn't thank them enough for such a great night."Jenna Slates, a freshman forward averaging 16 points and 11.3 rebounds, led the Eagles with 19 points and eight boards. Ashley Mullet (17 pts) and Gia Casalinova (11 pts) both netted a pair of long-range shots. Alysa Lopez added 10 points and four rebounds. "It's awesome," Durand added. "Ashland's an outstanding program, they've had a lot of injuries this year but it doesn't matter, they're still Ashland. It's a great win. It's our first time beating them since I've been here, these seniors have never beat them. It's a huge win for us, it gives us some momentum, gives us some confidence going into Tuesday. I can't say enough, it's a big one."The Oilers (15-12, 11-9 G-MAC) clinched the sixth seed in the G-MAC playoffs, and will travel to Crestview Hills, Kentucky, on Tuesday to take on three-seeded Thomas More (22-6, 14-6 G-MAC) at 6 p.m. Findlay only played the Saints once this season, losing 79-63 at home on December 4 in its G-MAC opener. ASHLANDSlates 8-3–19, Mullet 6-3–17, Casalinova 3-3–11, Lopez 5-0–10, Harabedian 1-4–6, Hill 2-0–5, Badali 1-0–3. TOTALS: 26-13–71.FINDLAYZiehler 12-0–24, Stockton 4-5–14, Schulz 5-0–11, Mescher 2-2–7, Douglas 3-1–7, Stanley 2-2–7, Freeman 2-0–4. TOTALS: 30-10–74.Ashland 15 20 17 19–71Findlay 19 17 16 22–74THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Ashland 6-21 (Mullet, Casalinova 2); Findlay 4-11 (Stockton, Schulz, Mescher, Stanley).REBOUNDS: Ashland 33 (Slates 8); Findlay 34 (Ziehler, Freeman 7).TURNOVERS: Ashland 8, Findlay 7.