Box Score All season long, the Ashland University women's basketball team has talked about the big picture. However, don't for a minute think that the GLIAC Tournament championship the Eagles won on Sunday (Mar. 4) at Kates Gymnasium belongs in a caption somewhere.
Sunday, the AU women stopped Ferris State, 66-50 for the first GLIAC basketball championship – men or women – in school history. That belongs in big, bold type. As for the big show on the big screen, that can wait, at least until Sunday night when the NCAA playoff field is officially announced.
Ashland has been in the GLIAC since 1995-96. Sunday's win was AU's 28th straight and the fourth-ranked Eagles are 28-1. This was the 20th consecutive win at home. All of those are impressive accomplishments. But getting the biggest trophy the GLIAC has to offer brings a special feeling.
"It's such an honor, especially with the team we have now," said junior forward Kari Daugherty (Fresno, Ohio/Dayton), who was named the GLIAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player. "I love the players and coaches. We've worked so hard, offseason, preseason and now the season. It's paid off now. It means so much to play with these girls."
"I've been doing this a long time, 33 years," said AU head coach Sue Ramsey when asked to reflect on the winning streak, the conference title and the upcoming trip to the NCAA playoffs. "I've never experienced anything like it. It's beautiful basketball. I just try to stay out of the way and let them do their thing."
Ashland's "thing," all year has been to run teams down with a starting five that has more options than a law school multiple choice test. But in the game's first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs (22-6) did an exceptional job of neutralizing all that talent. FSU wanted to slow the game down and turn this into a physical test. There's nothing wrong with that strategy and it worked – for 20 minutes. Ashland entered the game first in the GLIAC in rebound margin (+9.8), but at one point, the Eagles were being out-rebounded 17-4. At halftime, FSU had a 22-10 edge on the glass and led in points in the paint, 16-4. After 20 minutes, the Eagles were clinging to a 30-27 lead.
"We were so unsatisfied with how we played in the first half," said senior guard Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Kent State). "We said, 'We're not going to lose this.' Every girl came out and it wasn't one player who tried to take over."
"In the back of my mind I said, 'Mom's going to be mad at me," said Daugherty. "She gets on me to rebound every single game. I know that's my job, I rebound for the team each and every game. I wasn't doing my job. As soon as a shot went up, I got a body and then it was just go get it."
Daugherty finished with team highs of 17 points and 17 rebounds. Daugherty is second in the country in rebounds per game (13.6) and at the rate she's going, she could move into the top spot this week. This was her 21st double-double of the year and the 11th straight game she's had a double-double. On Sunday, Daugherty also set a school, single-season record for points. She has 596 points, which eclipses the mark of 584 points guard Amber Rall scored in 2006-07. Daughety and Rall are the only players in the program's history to score 500 points in a season (Rall did it twice).
Led by Daugherty, AU drew even on the boards. At the end of the game, both teams had 34 rebounds. That determination inside led to increased pressure on defense – FSU shot 29 percent (9-of-31) in the second half. AU shot 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half.
It took the Eagles some time to pull away from the rugged 'Dogs, who are ranked fourth in the region and will probably be back in Ashland this coming week for the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. Six minutes into the second half, AU was in front, 45-35. FSU got a field goal from sophomore guard Sarah DeShone with 13:39 left in the game and went 5:05 before getting another field goal. Forward Christina Branch, the GLIAC freshman of the year, ended that streak with a jumper in the paint at the 8:34 mark. At that point, AU led, 55-39. That was too big a deficit for Ferris State to overcome.
By that time, the Ashland crowd, which exceeded 1,000 for the third consecutive game, was roaring.
"Being in Kates Gymnasium was just awesome," said Ramsey. "It was giving me chills near the end when people knew we had it."
Stutzman and junior guard Lindsay Tenyak (Wadsworth, Ohio) scored 14 points each. Stutzman had four triples and Tenyak had three. Sophomore forward Ashley Dorner (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork) had 11 points.
"Lindsay, in the last two games, has done so many of the little things," said Ramsey. "You know she can shoot the three. But she did a great job doing the things she needed to do. The other four starters get a lot of the accolades but we wouldn't be where we are without Lindsay on the team."
Another player who could be described in a similar fashion on Sunday was junior forward Beth Mantkowski (Fairlawn, Ohio/Copley). Mantkowski doesn't shy away from physical play and that's what AU needed on this day. Against FSU Mantkowski played 14 minutes and scored four points and collected two rebounds. She was a good antidote for the 6-2 Branch, who had eight points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes. Branch had two points and three rebounds in the second half.
"Beth did a tremendous job," gushed Ramsey. "Beth did a good, solid job and I was pleased with what she gave us offensively."
Only one FSU player, forward Nikki Arner, reached double digits in scoring. She had 13 points. AU limited sophomore guard Sarah DeShone, a first team All-GLIAC pick, to nine points.
AU put two players – Stutzman and sophomore guard Alyssa Miller (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) - on the all-tournament team. They were joined by DeShone, Branch and Michigan Tech's Lindsey Lindstrom.
The NCAA playoff field will be announced Sunday night at 10 p.m. AU is in line to host the regional tournament for the first time. The Eagles are going to the NCAA postseason for the third time in school history. That tournament will be held Friday, Saturday and Monday, Mar. 9, 10 and 12.
AU
WBB/ALK
