Box Score Forget about PowerPoint presentations. The Ashland University women's basketball team is intent on making an impression with PowerPointless presentations.
Remember, the Eagles are the nation's top-ranked team. They have a glittering resume. Now it appears that the Eagles are intent bolstering that document with several bold-type lines about what they can take away. These aren't filler items, this is real meat and potatoes. It won't be hard to find any references either.
Monday night (Dec. 17) at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles (12-0/5-0 GLIAC) shut down Northwood, 68-43. NU (5-4/3-2) came into this game ranked second in the GLIAC in scoring at 76.2 ppg. Ashland outrebounded the 'Wolves by 30 – 50-20. Every shot was contested, NU ended the game shooting 30 percent (15-of-50) from the floor. AU took away NU's running game – holding the visitors to six fastbreak points. Lately, the 'Wolves have made a living at the free throw line but in this game, they got to the line only 11 times (they made nine, 81.8 percent).
This is the fewest points the Eagles have allowed this season and it's the lowest points allowed total since AU held Walsh to 43 points last season (Dec. 30, 2011). The last time AU allowed fewer than 43 points was in the early part of last season. On Nov. 27, 2011, the Eagles limited Saint Joseph's to 42 points.
This game also comes just three days after AU held the nation's fifth-ranked team – Indianapolis – to 54 points on its home court.
This was the sixth time this season Ashland has held a team to 56 points or less. In this game, AU led, 35-20 at halftime. Northwood was playing without All-GLIAC guard Rachel Church (out with an injury), who averages over 12 points per game. Coming back from a 15-point deficit, without your leading scorer, against the top-ranked team in the nation, is a tall task.
Speaking of tall, AU, thanks to that rebounding edge, led in second chance points, 26-2. Senior forwards Kari Daugherty (Fresno, Ohio/Dayton) and Daiva Gerbec (Dublin, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) both had double-doubles for the second consecutive game. The 6-1 Daugherty had 17 points and 16 rebounds and the 6-0 Gerbec had 12 points and 11 rebounds. This was Daugherty's 29th straight double-double.
Daugherty and Gerbec were joined in double digits by junior guard Alyssa Miller (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley), who had 11 points and five assists. The Eagles got an impressive performance off the bench from freshman guard McKenzie Miller (Walnut Creek, Ohio/Berlin Hiland), who had six points, four rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes.
This was AU's 37th consecutive regular season victory. The win gives the Eagles a 29-game home winning streak.
No Northwood player could break into double figures in points. NU's leading scorer was guard Sarah Spring, who had nine points.
The Eagles will host Lake Superior State on Wednesday (Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m.).
AU
WBB/ALK
