Local Sports

Monday, March 15, 2010

College basketball: UF women fall in regional semis

By BRIAN LESTER

Staff Writer

HOUGHTON, Mich -- With just less than 10 minutes to play, the University of Findlay women's basketball team trailed top-seeded Michigan Tech by 15 points in Sunday's NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinal.

The Oilers refused to go down without a fight against their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival. That mindset had allowed them to overcome tough situations in the past.

But on this day, the comeback came up short. UF sliced that 15-point deficit to two before falling 68-57 at the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, Mich.

“They did everything we asked of them,” UF head coach Kate Cummings said. “They played harder than I've ever seen them play, and that is a credit to their work ethic and desire.”

The Oilers (22-9) trailed 53-38 with 9:38 to go but came back to life behind the stellar play of freshman Kayla Brown, a former Riverdale standout who scored six points during a 17-4 run.

Her effort, along with a huge 3-pointer by Maggie Gompers, helped UF trim its deficit to 57-55 with 2:38 remaining.

“I thought the 3-pointer by Maggie gave us energy, along with the defensive stops we were able to get,” Cummings said. “We were able to get some baskets on runouts from Kayla Brown and we got rebounds. It allowed us to get back into the game.”

Missed shots by the Oilers and phenomenal free-throw shooting by the Huskies (30-2), who were 8-for-8 from the line in the final minutes, prevented UF from pulling off a stunning upset against the third-ranked team in the nation.

“We missed some lay-ups and Tech didn't miss its free throws,” Cummings said. “They made the plays at the end.”

The Oilers played MTU close in the first half and held a 20-18 lead after a lay-up by Jessica Vorst with 7:27 remaining.

The Huskies used a 13-3 run to take the momentum back. The Oilers trailed 33-27 at halftime.

Laura Bardall scored 15 points to pace UF, which wrapped up its first 20-win season since the 1999-00 campaign.

Ashley Andrews clicked for 13 points and Brown added eight. The Oilers shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field and were 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. They turned the ball over 16 times.

MTU continued its quest for a national title despite shooting only 39.2 percent (23-of-58) from the field. The Huskies were perfect on all 15 of their attempts from the line.

Katie Wysocky and Sarah Stream led the charge for MTU, pouring in 17 points apiece.

It marked the third time this season the Oilers have lost to the Huskies.

Still, UF did not come away from this season empty-handed. The Oilers won the GLIAC South Division title for the first time since 2000 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

For seniors Megan Sellers, Gompers, Audra Mihalic, Vorst and Candace Black, this was the end of the road.

All but Black, a transfer from Owens Community College, was with the team when it went 6-21 during the 2006-07 season.

The seniors leave with the program on a solid foundation.

“The seniors have meant so much to the program,” Cummings said. “We set a goal to win the division and play in the conference tournament. To make the NCAA tournament and win a game in it is beyond anything we could have asked for this year.”

UNIVERSITY OF Findlay (57)

Sellers 2-3 1-2 5, Nelson 1-3 0-0 2, Mihalic 1-9 0-0 3, Gompers 2-5 0-0 5, Bardall 6-15 3-4 15, Ritchie 0-0 0-0 0, Black 0-0 0-0 0, Andrews 4-7 3-4 13, Brown 3-6 2-2 8, Vorst 3-6 0-0 6. TOTALS: 22-54 9-1--57.

MICHIGAN TECH (68)

Wysocky 5-10 4-4 17, Danen 4-9 0-0 8, Stream 6-16 4-4 17, Ferris 2-7 2-2 6, Zimmerman 1-3 2-2 4, Kasza 2-4 0-0 6, Racine 0-0 0-0 0, Staehlin 1-2 2-2 4, Lindstrom 2-5 1-1 6, Hoyt 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23-58 15-15--68.

HALFTIME SCORE: Michigan Tech, 33-27.

3-Point GOALS: University of Findlay 4-11 (Mihalic 1-3, Gompers 1-4, Bardall 0-1, Andrews 2-3); Michigan Tech 7-28 (Wysocky 3-5, Danen 0-2, Stream 1-7, Ferris 0-5, Zimmerman 0-2, Kasza 2-3, Lindstrom 1-2, Hoyt 0-1, Guisfredi 0-1).

REBOUNDS: University of Findlay 32 (Sellers 6, Vorst 5); Michigan Tech 35 (Wysocky 9, Danen 7).

assists: University of Findlay 15 (Mihalic 5, Bardall 4, Andrews 4); Michigan Tech 11 (Danen 3, Stream 3).

steals: University of Findlay 5 (Bardall 4), Michigan Tech 7 (Stream 4).

blocks: University of Findlay 3, Michigan Tech 5.

TURNOVERS: University of Findlay 16, Michigan Tech 14.

total fouls: University of Findlay 14, Michigan Tech 11.

fouled out: None.

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