Coming off an easy victory at Ohio Valley last weekend, Tiffin women's basketball returns home to host Hillsdale and Findlay this week.
Game Information:
Tiffin Dragons (7-8, 2-3 GMAC) vs
Hillsdale Chargers (4-10, 1-4 GMAC)
Thursday, Jan. 9 | 5:30 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Live Stats
Tiffin Dragons (7-8, 2-3 GMAC) vs
Findlay Oilers (8-7, 4-1 GMAC)
Saturday, Jan. 11 | 1:00 p.m.
Tiffin, Ohio | Gillmor Center
Video | Live Stats
Dragon Details:
Tiffin kicked off the new year with an impressive victory over Ohio Valley last Saturday, coming away with a 75-46 win that marks the program's largest margin of victory (29) in a conference game since 2011. The Dragons will look to get to .500 or above in conference play with their two games this week as they come in at 2-3.
As a team, the Dragons are currently leading the conference in rebounding at 42.8 boards per game, including a GMAC-leading 12.9 per contest on the offensive end. Tiffin has also been stingy at the defensive end, ranking third in the conference with opponents shooting 40.9% from the field and second with opponents shooting 28.7% from deep. Tiffin also gets to the line frequently, leading the nation with 371 free throw attempts.
Aarion Nichols has powered the Tiffin offense so far, ranking 13th in the GMAC at 14.0 points per game. The sophomore is also sixth in the conference with 7.3 rebounds per game and 11th with 2.9 assists per game. Jasmine Watts is the next highest scorer at 8.9 points per game, and also ranks fourth in blocks and 13th in rebounding across the conference.
Scouting the Chargers:
Hillsdale has run into some struggles in the 2019-20 season, coming into the weekend at 1-4 in the GMAC and 4-10 overall. They lost to Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley on the road, but bounced back from that disappointing start to knock off Findlay at home before winter break. Last weekend, however, the Chargers fell to both Ursuline and Lake Erie at home.
The last meeting between the Dragons and Chargers came on Jan. 31 of last season in Hillsdale, where the Chargers rode a big first quarter advantage to a 90-72 win. Hillsdale no longer has their three top scorers from that meeting, however, with the top returner being Lauren Daffenberg who finished with 11 points. Jensen Hiegel had 14 points to lead Tiffin in the game, while Watts added 12 and Nichols 10.
Daffenberg also leads the team so far this season with 14 points per game. Sydney Anderson is also in double figures at 10.5 points per game, while Julia Wacker leads the Chargers with 6.7 rebounds per game. Hillsdale leads the conference and all of Division II with a blistering 82.7 free throw percentage, but struggles with ball control, ranking last in the GMAC with a turnover margin of -6.29.
Scouting the Oilers:
Findlay has fared well early in conference play at 4-1, with their only blemish coming at Hillsdale. The Oilers are third in the conference in scoring at 73.9 points per game and second to Tiffin in rebounding at 41.2 boards per contest.
The Oilers and Dragons last met on Feb. 2 of last season in Findlay as Tiffin nearly pulled off the upset, leading by a point after three quarters, but Findlay outscored Tiffin by 10 in the fourth for a 75-66 victory. Similar to Hillsdale, though, Findlay only has one player returning this season that scored in that game as Sydney Kin tallied seven points off the bench.
Kin now heads the Oiler offense at 14.5 points per game while also averaging 7.1 rebounds per contest. She is also fourth in the conference with a 55.4 field goal percentage and fifth at 82.5% from the free throw line. Amber Schweiger is also fourth with 3.9 assists per game and a 1.3 assist-turnover ratio.