Indianapolis (2-1) at #15 Ashland (1-0)
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2 p.m.
Kates Gymnasium, Ashland, Ohio
Setting The Scene
The Eagles are the defending NCAA Division II champions. This is the final home game in nearly a month as the next three games will be on the road. GLIAC play begins with road games at Grand Valley State (Dec. 5) and Ferris State (Dec. 7). In Indianapolis, the Eagles are matched against a program that is annually ranked among the best in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and the Midwest Region.
About the Eagles
AU has a 44-game home winning streak and currently holds a 14-game winning streak dating back to last season. The last time the Eagles lost at Kates Gymnasium was to Findlay, 81-73 in overtime on Jan. 29, 2011…the Eagles are ranked 15th in the nation in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll and were picked to win the GLIAC South in the preseason poll…in the last two seasons, the Eagles have won two GLIAC championships, two Midwest Region titles and played in two national championship games…dating back to the start of the 2011 season, AU is 71-3…the Eagles defeated the Greyhounds twice last year and have gone 9-0 against the GLVC in the last two years…AU finished fifth in the nation last year in free-throw percentage (77.8 percent)…AU shot 27-for-31 (87.1 percent) from the free throw line against Cedarville last Saturday. The Eagles stopped the Yellow Jackets, 83-72.
Eagles To Watch
Senior guard Alyssa Miller set a career high in points (game-high 25) against Cedarville. She tied her career high in rebounds (eight) against the Yellow Jackets. Miller is AU's all-time leader in assists with 466 and set an AU single-season record with 192 last year.
Junior guard Taylor Woods had a career-high 24 points and grabbed five rebounds in the season-opening win. Woods has seven career games scoring 20 or more points.
Freshman forward Suzy Wollenhaupt scored in double figures in her first collegiate game, recording 10 points and six rebounds…Wollenhaupt shot 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.
Freshman guard Rachelle Morrison provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine points and was perfect (4-of-4) from the free throw line.
Head Coach Sue Ramsey
Ramsey is in her 19th year at Ashland. Her record at Ashland is 325-199 (.620) and her career record as a college head coach is 420-327 (.562). Ramsey is the program's career leader in wins and has led AU to four postseason berths. She was named the 2012 GLIAC coach of the year and the WBCA NCAA Division II national coach of the year. She also received the WBCA's Carol Eckman Award in 2012 and in the fall, she was inducted into Miami's (Ohio) Cradle of Coaches. Ramsey has won 20 or more games five times and has two, 30-win seasons on her resume. AU has won the last two GLIAC Championships under Ramsey, the only two titles in program history. The 2011-12 team went 19-0 in the GLIAC, the only team in conference history to complete a conference schedule unblemished.
About Indianapolis
The Greyhounds earned their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament last year and finished the season 19-10…Indianapolis lost to AU in the first round at Kates Gymnasium, 70-56…the Greyhounds are coming off a 2-1 trip out west at the Disney Tip-off Classic in Anaheim, Calif. They lost in their season opener to Emporia State (ranked fifth in the country), 76-48, then defeated Montana State-Billings, 87-45 and Pittsburg State, 82-73. Indianapolis plays Lake Superior State on Friday night…three starters from last year's team return…Indianapolis is averaging 72.3 ppg. and shooting 44.4 percent from the field…the Greyhounds are outscoring their opponents by 9.3 points in the second half this season…senior guard Katy McIntosh leads the team in minutes (31.3 mpg.) and scoring (22.0 ppg.)…McIntosh has never missed a start in her career (92 consecutive starts). She is shooting 58.3 percent from the field and had 26 points, four rebounds, and six assists vs. Pittsburg State…sophomore guard Princess German is in her first year at Indianapolis after transferring from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She's second on the team in scoring (14.0 ppg.). German had 12 points and three rebounds in her Indianapolis debut and went 8-for-10 from the free throw line against Emporia State. She scored 17 points against Montana State-Billings…Redshirt-junior forward Kirsten Gliesmann leads the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). She led the Greyhounds and the GLVC in rebounding last season (7.1 rpg.) and was second in the conference in blocks (1.8 bpg.). She grabbed eight rebounds in each of her first two games…senior forward Eliza Wortman is the best bench contributor, averaging 8.3 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. She tied her career-high of 15 points against Pittsburg State as she went 5-for-8 from the field. Wortman led the Greyhounds last season in field goal percentage (54.6 percent)…head coach Constantin Popa is in his third season at Indianapolis. He has guided the Greyhound to consecutive 19-win seasons and is 22-14 in GLVC play...Popa is believed to be the tallest head coach in NCAA history, standing at 7-3…the Greyhounds were picked to finish second in the GLVC East in the league's preseason poll.
Eagles-Greyhounds
The Greyhounds lead the all-time series, 19-13…Ashland has won five of the last eight games…AU and Indianapolis met twice last year and the Eagles swept the season series…Ashland defeated the Greyhounds at Indianapolis on Dec. 14 in a matchup of top five teams, winning 70-54. Miller had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes and helped the Eagles on defense, holding Indianapolis to just 39 percent shooting in the game. AU shot 46.2 percent from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range in the first half and led, 34-24 at the break. AU dominated the glass the entire game, out-rebounding the Greyhounds, 50-25 and grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in the contest…in the first round of the Midwest Regional Tournament, AU won, 70-56. The Eagles started strong in the first half on defense, leading 41-27 at halftime and held the Greyhounds to 33 percent shooting…McIntosh scored just five points and went 2-for-10 from the field. Woods grabbed a career-high nine rebounds while chipping in five points and five assists.
Up Next
The Eagles take to the road for the first time this season, traveling to Mercyhurst on Saturday, Nov. 30, for a 1 p.m. tipoff…after Mercyhurst, AU has just one non-conference game left on its schedule, Saturday, Dec. 21, at New York Institute of Technology.
AU
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