Box Score BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – With three games left in this regular season, the AU women's basketball team isn't ready to relax. But the Eagles can now celebrate a GLIAC South championship after beating host No. 25 Ferris State, 66-56, at Jim Wink Arena on Saturday (Feb. 11) afternoon.
The Eagles were GLIAC South co-champions last season and were the fifth seed in the GLIAC Tournament. With Saturday's win, the Eagles have a 2.5-game lead over Ferris State overall in the GLIAC. It was Ashland's 22nd consecutive win.
"Any time you can win your division in this conference it's a great accomplishment, especially the South Division, which was especially tough," AU head coach Sue Ramsey said. "It's really a testament to the team, our players and our coaches."
The 5th-ranked Eagles (22-1, 16-0 GLIAC) used an all-around terrific defensive effort to slow the GLIAC North leaders, holding the Bulldogs (16-5, 13-2 GLIAC) just 35.8 percent (19-for-53) shooting for the game. The Eagles held Ferris State's leading scorer, guard Sarah DeShone, to just 11 points and two assists and forced her into four turnovers. She was the only scorer in double figures for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Miller (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) drew the assignment on DeShone, holding her to just 4-for-14 shooting from the field.
"Ferris is a really good team, they have weapons at every position," Ramsey said. "We played really strong 1-on-1 defense. Alyssa did a great job and our team defense was outstanding. We won this one with our defense."
The Eagles were led by Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Hiland/Kent State), who scored 15 of her 21 points in the first half and tossed in four 3-pointers. She scored a season-high 28 points at Grand Valley State on Thursday with 18 of those coming in the first half.
"I can't say enough about Jena," Ramsey said. "People don't always see in the box score what she does defensively. Seniors can do two things: they can go all out or they can check out. She's not checking out. She missed the last half of last season and worked too hard."
Junior Kari Daugherty (Fresno, Ohio/Dayton) finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season. She also had three steals and three assists. Fifteen of her points came in the second half. She got into foul trouble and played 34 minutes. Junior forward Beth Mantkowski (Fairlawn, Ohio/Copley) played 18 minutes and provided outstanding defense against FSU freshman 6-foot-2 forward Christina Branch.
"Beth brings a post presence for us, especially on the defensive end," said Ramsey. "She was able to match their physicality."
Mantkowski converted a three-point play with 10:47 left to play that extended AU's lead to 11 points, 51-40.
The Bulldogs cut that lead down to three points, 57-54, with 3:49 left after DeShone knocked down one of her three 3-pointers of the game.
The Eagles responded with a 5-0 run that included a 3-pointer from Daugherty and a pair of free throws by Stutzman.
AU trailed briefly in the first half when Tricia Principe started the game with a three-point play, but Stutzman responded with a 3-pointer to tie the game. The teams traded the lead nine times in the first half, but the Eagles went into halftime with a 32-25 lead. The lead remained between five and 11 points for much of the second half until DeShone's 3-pointer cut the lead to three.
Miller finished with six points, six rebounds and five assists and redshirt-sophomore forward Ashley Dorner (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) was outstanding with 12 points and five rebounds. She consistently connected on her mid-range baseline jumper, hitting five of her last eight shots in the game.
The Eagles held Branch to nine points and six rebounds and Principe had six points and a team-high 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs. AU had a small edge on the glass, 36-35. The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs, 16-6, in points off turnovers. They forced the Bulldogs into 14 giveaways.
The Eagles return to Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 16) to host national runner-up Michigan Tech. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. AU also hosts Northern Michigan at 1 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 18).
AU
WBB/BB
