Box Score Saturday (Jan. 29) at Kates Gymnasium, the Ashland University women's basketball team sustained a mark in the loss column.
As disheartening as that is, another loss the Eagles suffered could be even worse. Junior guard Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Kent State) had to leave the game with a leg injury midway through the first half. She didn't return and that doesn't bode well for the Eagles.
Without Stutzman, the Eagles put up a game fight before losing in overtime, 81-73 to Findlay. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak. This was AU's first setback since losing in double overtime at Findlay, 80-77 on Jan. 5. This loss gives the Oilers (14-4/9-2 GLIAC) a sweep of the season series. Ashland is 12-6, 7-4 within the league.
Even without Stutzman, the GLIAC's second leading scorer who left with four points in 10 minutes, the Eagles had the lead throughout the first half and for part of the second half. It was 35-27, Ashland at the break and with 11:39 left in regulation the Eagles were in front, 51-42. But Findlay was using full-court pressure to attack the Eagles. Without Stutzman, the Eagles were without a steady hand in the backcourt. The roster was also thin because senior forward Liz Tyler (Monroeville, Ohio) was out for the second straight game due to injury.
Findlay climbed back into the contest thanks to the three-point shot. Facing that nine-point deficit, the Oilers got triples on three of their next four possessions. A layup by guard Saira House with 9:17 left tied the game, 53-53. Findlay was 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from three-point range in the game and clicked on 6-of-15 (40 percent) three-point attempts in the second half. In overtime, the Oilers were 2-for-2.
Those three-pointers shifted the game's momentum and Findlay built a nine-point lead, 62-53 with 6:51 to play. The Eagles, while staggered, didn't go down for the count. With 1:31 remaining in regulation, senior guard Rachel Poorman (Zanesville, Ohio/Maysville) connected on a pair of free throws to tie the game, 62-62. The Eagles forced UF's Clare Aubry to turn the ball over with 1:18 left and sophomore forward-center Daiva Gerbec (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) put in a jumper for a 64-62 AU lead.
Gerbec finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. That's her sixth consecutive double-double and her 10th of the season. Gerbec has played against Findlay four times and never failed to register a double-double.
Findlay got to within 64-63 on a free throw by Laura Bardall with 11 seconds to play. On the second free throw by Bardall, UF committed a lane violation. Ashland got the ball and the Eagles fouled Poorman. The senior dropped in both free throws for a 66-63 AU lead with 10 seconds to play.
The Oilers had the last shot in regulation and they made it count. With two seconds to go, Bardall found Aubry alone along the three-point line. Aubry's shot was true and the teams went to overtime tied, 66-66.
Ashland never got the lead in the extra session. Fourteen seconds into the period, UF's Kayla Brown gave UF a 68-66 lead with two free throws. AU suffered a turnover and Aubry hit another triple and Findlay led, 71-66. Poorman momentarily stopped the bleeding with a jumper from the wing, but Aubry answered with another three and Findlay led, 74-68 with 2:41 left. Ashland was out of answers. Aubry had 10 of UF's 15 points in overtime.
AU's leading scorer was sophomore guard Lindsay Tenyak (Wadsworth, Ohio), who gave the Eagles exceptional play off the bench. Tenyak logged 36 minutes and had 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman point guard Alyssa Miller (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) scored 12 points to go with four assists and sophomore forward-center Beth Mantkowski (Fairlawn, Ohio/Copley) had 11 points.
Aubry led all players in the game with 30 points. She was 9-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-9 from three-point range. Brown had 20 points and four steals.
AU outrebounded the Oilers, 40-32 and led in second chance points, 17-8. Findlay attempted to neutralize that statistic by forcing 23 turnovers. The Oilers outscored the Eagles in points off of turnovers, 29-17. Both teams were fine at the free throw line. UF was 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) and Ashland was 12-of-14 (85.7 percent).
The Eagles return to the court this coming Thursday (Feb. 3, 7:30 p.m.) when they host Ohio Dominican.
AU
WBB/ALK
