PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Lake Erie College women's basketball team fell to the #25 University of Findlay Oilers on Saturday (Jan. 6) afternoon at the Osborne Center. The Oilers used a big second half to defeat the Storm, 83-62.

Findlay scored the first five points of the contest before Lake Erie followed with a 9-0 run, capped by a Ashley West (Willoughby Hills, Ohio / Cornerstone Christian) layup with 5:57 left in the quarter. Kayla Gabor (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) scored five points on the run. The Oilers tied the game at nine with four straight points. Breanna Bauer (Port Huron, Mich. / Northern) regained the Storm lead with a layup before Findlay answered with a three pointer. Gabor converted a three point play with 3:04 left, giving the Storm a 14-12 lead. The Oilers made a three pointer before Lake Erie ended the quarter with a 4-0 run. The Storm led 18-15 after the first quarter.

Findlay started the second quarter with six straight points before Christine Dawson (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) snapped the run with two free throws. Gabor followed with a jumper that put the Storm up 22-21 with 6:26 left. Findlay scored five straight points for a 26-22 advantage.  Dawson and Bauer combined for back-to-back buckets, tying the game at 26 before the media timeout. Lake Erie got two straight layups from Josie Chaddock (Minerva, Ohio / Minerva) and Gabor, pushing Lake Erie's lead to 30-27. Findlay ended the half with four straight points, leading 31-30 at the half.

The Oilers opened the third quarter with eight straight points, forcing a Storm timeout two minutes into the frame.  Findlay pushed the lead to as many as 19 in the quarter as they led 58-41 after three quarters. Chaddock scored eight points as she shot three-of-five from the floor.

The two teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter, matching each other at each end. The Storm pushed the deficit to under twenty a couple times in the quarter but could not get any closer. Lake Erie fell 83-62.

Gabor led the Storm with 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Chaddock finished with 14 points.

The Storm will travel to Canton, Ohio for a matchup with the Malone University Pioneers on Thursday (Jan. 11), with the game tipping off at 8:00 PM.

-LEC-