COLUMBUS, Ohio – Facing the second-best team in the GLIAC standings, Ohio Dominican's women's basketball team trailed by just five midway through the second half before Findlay pulled away with a 58-45 victory Thursday night in GLIAC play.

Junior forward Katelyn Stuckey (Millersburg, Ohio) had game-highs in points (14) and rebounds (seven), while sophomore guard Kacee Hockenberry (Haviland, Ohio) chipped in with 12 points. Freshman forward Melissa Scherpenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio) pulled down seven rebounds and blocked two shots as well.

Findlay pulled to 10 point lead early in the second half, but ODU hung close. Down 37-27, sophomore guard Micaela Liddane (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) finished a layup in transition, and Stuckey sank a pair of free throws to bring the Panthers to within 37-31 at the 16:16 mark.

The Oilers bumped their advantage back to nine before another mini-Panther surge. Hockenberry drilled a jump shot, and Scherpenberg buried a baseline jump shot on a feed from freshman guard Rachael Torey (Sterling Heights, Mich.) to make it 42-37 Oilers with 12:33 to play.

Unfortunately, the Panther offense went cold after that point, scoring just one point in the next 7:23 before finally hitting another field goal – a Stuckey layup – at the 4:43 mark. By that point, the Oilers led 52-40, and the Panthers could not cut the deficit to single digits.

Findlay led throughout the contest, scoring six straight points to take a 13-6 lead at the 10:28 point of the first half. A triple by freshman forward Morgan Cnudde (Corunna, Mich.) helped bring the Panthers back within three, 13-10, but again the Oilers came back with six unanswered to grab a 19-10 edge at the 8:23 mark.

Hockenberry stuck a deep three as the shot clock expired to make it 19-13, but again the Oilers answered and stretched their lead to double digits on a pair of occasions, including 26-16 with 4:10 to play. ODU closed to within three, 26-23, on two Torey free throws, a Scherpenberg layup and a Hockenberry triple, with just under two minutes to play. The Oilers would take a 32-25 lead into the half, though.

For the contest, ODU shot 41.7 percent (15-of-36) and held a slight 30-29 edge on the glass, but was hurt by 25 turnovers that resulted in 30 Findlay points. The Oilers also had a 30-20 edge in points in the paint.

Ohio Dominican remains at home for a 3 p.m. tipoff Saturday against Hillsdale. The Panthers will be collecting donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund as part of their annual Pink Day, and will be raffling off a basketball signed by the team.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu