'Found a Way to Hang on' -- Racers Edge Past Midway 97-91

LIMA, OH - The UNOH women's basketball team picked up their fourth consecutive victory Thursday night and completed a non-conference sweep for just the second time in program history (2020-21: 2-0) with a 97-91 win over Midway, the program's first win over the Eagles since 2018. The game was the final non-WHAC contest of the season with the Racers finishing 6-0 in those games for the program's best ever non-conference record.

The two offenses were on full display most of the night but it was a slow start for both. The teams combined for just 16 points halfway through the first quarter and were locked tight at 8-8. Despite two more ties in the frame, UNOH never trailed carried a three-point advantage into the second. 

Midway started the quarter with an 11-1 run that put them up 26-20 after just two minutes and increased the lead to their largest of the night, 33-26, with 4:44 left in the half. In those last five minutes, the Racer offense came alive hitting nine of eleven shots, including 3-3 from outside, to end the half on 19-6 streak that flipped the script and gave them a 47-39 lead at the break.

That UNOH momentum spilled over into the third as the Racers opened with eight of the first ten points making the total run 27-8 over the two quarters for the game's largest lead, 55-41. Midway kept fighting but could only get within seven points as the final frame begin with UNOH up 65-58. The Eagles shaved the lead back to four several times but a stellar free throw shooting quarter by the entire Racer team kept them at bay.

"I'm extremely proud of our fight tonight," stated head coach Matt Vavro after the game. "We knew we had our hands full but the girls really stepped up and made their free throws late in the game and we found a way to hang on in the end."

UNOH hit 27 of 35 free throws in the game, matching their season high, including 17 of 20 in the final stanza.

Alysia Lawson led all scorers with 29 points and eclisped 2,000 career points adding four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Sanaiiya Gray set a new career high with 21 points of her own while pulling down six rebounds and blocking three shots giving her 30 in just ten games this season. 

Lori Huffman bagged her third double-double scoring 13 and grabbing 22 boards while dishing out a career high four assists and blocking two shots. It is the third time Huffman has topped 20+ rebounds in her freshman campaign, a feat that had been accomplished just twice in the program's previous 18 years.

Brooke Asher finished with twelve points, her tenth double-digit outing in eleven games, assisting seven times and grabbing five rebounds. Jordan Mueller came off the bench and didn't miss a shot of any kind all night going 2-2 from the field, 1-1 from three, and 6-6 at the charity stripe for eleven points in the game, matching her career high.

UNOH will play their fourth of four straight home games on Saturday, December 13 as they get back into conference play against Defiance.