FINDLAY, Ohio - Tiffin women's basketball went into the fourth quarter with a two-point lead at Findlay on Friday, but the Oilers bounced back in the final period to defeat the Dragons 81-75.
Tiffin falls to 2-1 on the season after picking up wins over Ohio Dominican and Malone in their first two contests. Findlay improves to 2-1 with the victory.
Four Dragons were in double figures, led by Savanah Richards with 18 points and five assists. Aarion Nichols was next with 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, followed by Kirsten Williams with 12 points and eight boards. Jessica Chase rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts with 11 points on the afternoon.
Tiffin struggled shooting the ball for much of the game, hitting just 37.9% from the field and 32.3% from deep. On the other end, Findlay shot 59% from the field and 60% from deep. The Oilers also went to the free-throw line a whopping 39 times, hitting 26 of their attempts from the charity stripe.
What kept the Dragons in the game was their rebounding, as Tiffin actually had more offensive rebounds (22) than defensive boards (17). This led to a huge advantage on second-chance points, as Tiffin scored 23 compared to just four for Findlay. In total, TU outrebounded UF 39 to 25.
The Oilers got off to a hot start, taking leads of 22-17 after one quarter and 40-29 at halftime.
The Dragons then went on a 17-6 run, tying the game at 46 on a triple from Jessica Chase with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter. The lead changed hands a few times before the end of the period, until a Kirsten Williams layup gave Tiffin a 54-52 advantage heading into the final ten minutes.
Foul trouble would doom Tiffin in the end, though, as two Dragons fouled out and two others finished the game with four fouls. Findlay took advantage late, scoring 15 of their 29 fourth-quarter points from the free-throw line as they pulled away late for the 81-75 victory.
Tiffin will have to turn around quickly as they play again tomorrow, hosting Ursuline at 1:00 p.m. The Arrows are 0-2 thus far on the season, falling to Walsh and Cedarville.