Box Score FINDLAY, OH – Basketball coaches can devise all sorts of drills for defense and they can work for hours on half-court sets and conditioning.
It's much harder to find a drill to build confidence. In reality, there is no exercise to hone that much-needed quality.
On Wednesday (Jan. 5) at the University of Findlay's Croy Gymnasium, the women's basketball teams from Findlay and Ashland were both in search of confidence. Even though both could be found near the top of the GLIAC South Division, both needed a booster shot. On this night, it was Findlay which got a surge of adrenalin with an 80-77 triumph in double overtime.
Ashland (8-5/3-3 GLIAC) entered the game with a three-game losing streak and Findlay (8-3/4-1) had lost two of its last three games. The Oilers' last game resulted in a 59-56 setback at Puerto Rico-Bayamon where they turned the ball over 24 times.
Momentum was hard to find in this game. In the first half the lead changed hands seven times and the game was tied five times. Both teams had 11 turnovers. The Eagles were able to take a 31-27 lead to the locker room thanks in large part to three-point field goals in the final 90 seconds by guards Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Kent State) and Kaci Finfrock (West Milton, Ohio/Milton-Union).
The pattern of the game didn't change in the second half. With 12 minutes remaining in regulation Ashland was ahead, 45-42. The Eagles were able to maintain that three-point cushion over the next six minutes and after two free throws by guard Rachel Poorman (Zanesville, Ohio/Maysville), led, 52-49 with 6:02 on the clock.
The Oilers got a three-pointer on the left wing from Kaleigh Kenny with 4:52 to go and enjoyed a 54-52 lead. When the final media timeout was whistled at 3:28 the Eagles were ahead, 56-54. They went to the bench with that lead thanks to a jumper in the paint by sophomore forward-center Daiva Gerbec (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson).
Findlay tied the game, 60-60 with 1:11 left in regulation on an inside jumper by Clare Aubry. With 48 seconds to play, Gerbec connected on both ends of a one-and-one for a 62-60 Ashland advantage.
On UF's next possession, with the shot clock at two seconds, Aubry buried a turnaround in the key to knot the game, 62-62. AU had the ball and 12 seconds to work with after both teams utilized timeouts.
With five seconds left, Stutzman found the bottom of the net with a short jumper for a 64-62 AU lead. The Eagles did not get back down the court quickly enough after the hoop and UF's Kaitlyn Nelson put in a layup with one second to tie the game, 64-64 and force overtime.
Once again, both teams struggled to generate much offense in the first overtime. With 1:04 remaining in the extra session it was 66-66. With just under a minute, Stutzman misfired on a three from in front. At the buzzer, the Oilers came up short on a trey from the corner and the teams headed to a second overtime with the game tied at 66.
With 1:24 to play in the second overtime, Laura Bardall was on target with a three for a 73-72 Findlay lead. Stutzman answered with a driving layup through the heart of the UF defense and Ashland was back on top, 74-73. Bardell got the Oilers back in front, 76-74, with another triple.
Ashland's next possession resulted in a missed jumper on the perimeter from Finfrock. The Oilers got the rebound with 22 seconds on the clock, Aubry went to the free throw line for a one-and-one. She made both attempts for a 78-74 Findlay lead.
Stutzman brought the Eagles to within 78-77 on a three-pointer with 14 seconds to play. Saira House missed the front end of a one-and-one and Ashland got the rebound. Stutzman missed a jumper in heavy traffic with two seconds left and two free throws by Aubry with just under a second provided UF with its final margin of victory.
Gerbec had 28 points and 16 rebounds. Stutzman had 15 points and Poorman contributed eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Stutzman played 50 minutes and Poorman logged 48 minutes.
Findlay got 24 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals from Nelson. Aubry had 21 points. Bardall and House both had 10 points.
Ashland is idle until hosting Tiffin next Thursday (Jan. 13, 7:30 p.m.).
AU
WBB/ALK
