Tiffin women's basketball continues GMAC play on Saturday and Monday with their first two home conference games of the season against Walsh and Malone.
Game Information:
Tiffin Dragons (5-6, 1-1 GMAC) vs
Walsh Cavaliers (7-2, 1-0 GMAC)
Saturday, Dec. 14 | 1:00 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (5-6, 1-1 GMAC) vs
Malone Pioneers (5-3, 1-0 GMAC)
Monday, Dec. 16 | 5:30 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Live Stats
Dragon Details:
Tiffin opened GMAC play last weekend with a pair of games against the southern schools, taking down Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday before falling to undefeated Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday. Against the Trojans, junior Brooke Wesner exploded for a career-best 29 points with five made threes, while sophomore Aarion Nichols added a huge 17-point, 15-rebound double-double to lead the Dragons to victory.
Tiffin's offense has been much improved from last season thus far, currently ranking fourth in the GMAC with 76.3 points per game and fifth in scoring margin. The Dragons are also dominating the boards, ranking second by just three-tenths of a rebound with 42.6 per contest while leading the conference with 13.0 offensive boards per game. TU is also fourth in both assists and assist-turnover ratio.
The Dragons are led by sophomores Aarion Nichols and Jasmine Watts, with Nichols at the top of the pack with 13.4 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game, and 1.1 steals per game. Watts is adding 9.6 points per game and 6.5 boards per game, as well as a GMAC-leading 1.6 blocks per contest. Nichols and Watts are also eighth and ninth, respectively, in the conference rebounding standings.
Brooke Wesner (8.5 ppg) and Danelle Bradley (6.8 ppg) are next on the team offensively, both shooting over 38% from beyond the arc. Jada Tate rounds out the top five in scoring with 6.3 points per game while pulling down 6.1 rebounds per game.
Scouting the Cavaliers:
Walsh was picked to finish first in the conference by the coaches, and has lived up to that billing thus far with a 7-2 record, with one of those losses coming by single-digits to a top-five team nationally at Ashland. Last weekend, the Cavaliers opened GMAC play with a 29-point win over Lake Erie at home. Walsh is fifth nationally with 84.4 points per game, fifth with a 50.3 FG%, and eighth with a 39.6 3PT%.
The Cavaliers and Dragons last met on Jan. 3 of last season in North Canton, with Walsh taking an 87-73 victory over Tiffin. Nichols led the Dragons with 14 points and six rebounds, while Watts added eight points and eight boards. Now-sophomore guard Lexie Scarton led all scorers with 21 points for Walsh, including going 6-8 from deep in the contest.
Sophomore guard Quionche Carter is leading the Cavaliers and the GMAC with 18.7 points per game on 54.3% shooting from the field and 47.1% from deep. She is also recording 6.1 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game, and 1.7 steals per game. Junior forward Mayci Sales is fifth in the conference with 16.9 points per game and tenth with 6.6 boards per game. The Cavaliers have a pair of other players averaging double figures in Tyler Newkirk (14.4 ppg) and Kimmie Borck (10.8 ppg).
Scouting the Pioneers:
Malone is off to a respectable 5-3 start to the season, and enter this weekend on a three-game win streak including a 72-60 win over Ursuline in their GMAC opener last Thursday. The Pioneers will also take on Ohio Dominican this Saturday before squaring off with Tiffin on Monday.
The last matchup between Tiffin and Malone came on Jan. 5, 2019 in Canton as the Pioneers took a 72-62 win. Jensen Hiegel led Tiffin with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Nichols chipped in 16 points and nine boards. Current Malone sophomore Robin Campbell led the Cavaliers with a very-near triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in the game.
Campbell's success has continued in her second season with the Pioneers, as she leads the team and ranks eighth in the conference with 15.1 points per game. She also averages 5.4 rebounds per game and a team-leading 2.6 assists per game. Holly Groff is next with 13.6 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game, followed by Sydney Wentling at 10.4 points per game and a team-leading 6.0 boards per game.