Monday, Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m.
Saginaw Valley State (4-1, 2-0 GLIAC) at Ashland (4-1, 2-0 GLIAC)
Kates Gymnasium, Ashland, Ohio
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 5:30 p.m.
Wayne State (3-1, 2-0 GLIAC) at Ashland (4-1, 2-0 GLIAC)
Kates Gymnasium, Ashland, Ohio
Saturday, Dec. 21, 12 p.m.
Ashland (4-1, 2-0 GLIAC) at New York Institute of Technology (2-3, 0-2 ECC)
Recreation Hall, Old Westbury, N.Y.
(Both GLIAC games will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM 1340 with Matt Brubaker on the call.)
Setting the Scene
The Eagles have a pair of home games against GLIAC North Division opponents Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State then travel to New York to face the New York Institute of Technology. Ashland won both of its road games last week to begin conference play, sweeping the trip to Grand Valley State and Ferris State for just the second time in program history. The Eagles have won 24 straight games against GLIAC North Division opponents and are allowing just 58.3 ppg., during that stretch. They haven't lost since a 63-53 decision against Michigan Tech in the GLIAC Tournament championship on Mar. 6, 2011.
About the Eagles
In the two games last weekend against the Lakers and Bulldogs, the Eagles dominated the second half by shooting 58.1 percent from the field and averaged 51.1 ppg. Ashland scored 62 second half points against Ferris State after trailing 45-35 at halftime. That point total was their highest in one half since Jan. 26, 2012 when the Eagles scored 66 points in the first half at Wayne State.…the frontcourt of Suzy Wollenhaupt and Melanie Poorman were key factors in the weekend sweep, combining for 36.5 ppg., and 16.5 rpg., while shooting 53.8 percent (28-of-52) from the field…at Grand Valley State, the Eagles scored 42 points in the paint and grabbed a season-high 42 rebounds, 12 on the offensive boards. They shot 44.9 percent (31-for-69) from the field for the game and 51.5 percent (17-for-33) in the second half. Ashland committed a season-low nine turnovers and recorded a season-best seven blocked shots. Four players scored in double figures…against Ferris State, Ashland out-rebounded the Bulldogs, 35-28 and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds. It was the first time this year the Eagles have out-rebounded their opponent. In every game this season, the Eagles have increased their made field goal totals. Against the Bulldogs, Ashland went 35-for-62 (56.5 percent) from the field and made a season-best 21-of-22 (95.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Eagles also tied their season high with 19 assists…Ashland is shooting 48.9 percent from the field on the road (three games) and 44.8 percent at home (two games).
How They Rank
Category GLIAC
Free Throw Percentage --- 84.7% 1st (2nd in nation)
Turnovers/Game --- 12.0 1st (5th in nation)
Fouls/Game --- 15.2 1st (7th in nation)
Field Goal Percentage --- 47.4% 2nd (14th in nation)
Field Goals/Game --- 29.0 3rd
3-Point Field Goal Percentage --- 35.3% 5th
3-Point Field Goals/Game --- 6.0 5th
Points/Game --- 78.4 5th
Assists/Game --- 15.6 6th
Points Allowed --- 73.6 11th
Eagles to Watch
Senior guard Alyssa Miller leads the GLIAC in minutes played (37.2 mpg.) and is second in assists (4.6 apg.). She is ninth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.30) and is tied for 10th in scoring, averaging 16.2 ppg…against Ferris State, Miller scored 24 points, 16 coming in the second half. At Grand Valley State, she had a team-high eight assists…Miller is Ashland's all-time leader with 486 career assists and set an AU single-season record with 192 last year…Miller recorded a school-record 15 assists at Tiffin (Feb. 23, 2013)…the Eagles are 85-9 with Miller in the starting lineup.
Junior guard Taylor Woods is the top scorer in the GLIAC, averaging 21.2 ppg. She has scored in double figures in four of the five games this year and 22 of her last 26 games dating back to last season. She has connected on at least two threes in 19 of her last 26 games. Woods is second in the league in three-pointers (18) and 20th in three-point field goal percentage (40 percent)…against Ferris State, Woods set a new career high with 34 points, 29 of those coming in the second half. She went 10-for-18 from the field and made five threes. She also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a team-high six assists…against Indianapolis on Nov. 17, she set an Ashland single-game record with nine three-pointers, breaking the old record of eight set by Bridget Donovan in 1999 against Mercyhurst.
Junior guard Melanie Poorman had the best two-game stretch of her career against Grand Valley State and Ferris State. Poorman set career highs against the Lakers, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. It was her first career double-double. Two days later, she scored 10 points and five rebounds at Ferris State...in her last three games, Poorman is shooting 57.1 percent from the field and averaging seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard McKenzie Miller is 16th in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (53.3 percent) and 20th in three-point field goal percentage (40 percent). Miller has also been a good rebounding threat, averaging 5.4 rpg., and is 17th in the conference in offensive rebounds (11).
Freshman forward Suzy Wollenhaupt has been a constant weapon on the offensive and defensive ends this season. She was named this week's GLIAC South Division player of the week as she averaged 22.5 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. On offense, she ranks eighth in the GLIAC in free-throw percentage (90.5 percent), 13th in scoring (15.0 ppg.), and 14th in offensive rebounds (13). She is fifth in the conference in blocks (8) and 14th in rebounding (6.4 rpg.)…Wollenhaupt has scored in double figures and grabbed at least five rebounds in all five games this year…at Grand Valley State, she scored a career-high 29 points on 14-of-25 (56 percent) shooting while grabbing seven rebounds.
Head Coach Sue Ramsey
Ramsey is in her 19th year at Ashland. Her record at Ashland is 328-200 (.621) and her career record as a college head is 423-328 (.563). 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.
Ramsey vs. Saginaw Valley State: 14-7
Ramsey vs. Wayne State: 26-10
About Saginaw Valley State (4-1, 2-0 GLIAC)
Saginaw Valley State comes into this game after defeating Ohio Dominican, 69-64 and Tiffin, 83-64 last week. The Cardinals shot 41.2 percent from the field over the weekend and outrebounded the Panthers and Dragons, 90-78…Saginaw Valley State is the best in the conference, holding opponents to 19.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and is third in opponent field goal percentage (37.6 percent). Offensively, the Cardinals are second in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage (40.0 percent) and assists (17.4 apg.). They score 81.0 ppg., ranking third in the league and rank fourth in field goal percentage (47.0 percent).
Senior guard Kristen Greene is the team's top scorer and third leading rebounder. She ranks eighth in the league in scoring (16.4 ppg) and 23rd in rebounding (5.4 rpg.). Greene is a stellar free throw shooter (92.3 percent). She is fifth in the GLIAC at the line and she is seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.50)…Greene is shooting 46.2 percent from the three-point line...she scored a season-high 22 points in the first game of the year against Lewis. She had 20 points against Ohio Dominican and 17 points against Tiffin.
Junior forward Samantha Zirzow is second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg.) and third in rebounding (7.0 rpg.). She is 14th in the conference in scoring and ninth in rebounding. Zirzow is fifth in the league in field goal percentage, shooting 62.5 percent and hasn't shot less than 55 percent from the field in any game this season…Zirzow had a double-double against Tiffin, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She posted a season-high 20 points in a two-point win against St. Joseph's on Nov. 10.
Leading the team in rebounding is junior forward Briana Graham. Graham is averaging 7.4 rpg., this season and comes into this week's contests sixth in the GLIAC. She is also 10th in blocks (5) and seventh in defensive rebounds (27)…Graham posted a double-double on Nov. 27 where she posted 15 points and 10 rebounds…she has pulled down four or more rebounds in 12 of her last 14 games dating back to last season.
Jamie Pewinski is in her third season as the Cardinals head coach. Pewinski led SVSU to the GLIAC quarterfinals last season, the program's first appearance in the conference tournament since the 2006-07 season. In her first two-plus seasons, Pewinski is 23-35. She spent five seasons as the Lake Superior State head coach.
Eagles-Cardinals
Ashland leads the all-time series with the Cardinals, 14-7. The series dates back to 1995, and the Eagles won the first-ever meeting with the Cardinals, 69-63 in Ramsey's first season at Ashland. The Eagles have a three-game winning streak and have won five of the last seven in the series. Last season, the Eagles were victorious on the road, winning, 81-67. Ashland led by four at the break, 41-37 and outscored the Cardinals, 40-30 in the second half and finished the game shooting 50.7 percent from the field. Alyssa Miller scored 10 points and Woods had nine in the game. The last time the Cardinals defeated the Eagles was during the 2009-10 season at Saginaw Valley State, 85-80. That's the only time in the last seven games the final margin of victory was under 10 points.
About Wayne State (3-1, 2-0 GLIAC)
Wayne State reached the Midwest Regional final last season, falling to Ashland, 72-63. The Warriors come to Kates Gymnasium this time after sweeping the first two games of their conference schedule against Tiffin and Ohio Dominican. In their two wins, Wayne State averaged 86.5 ppg., and shot 54.1 percent from the field…the Warriors lead the GLIAC in field goal percentage (51.9 percent) and are fourth in scoring (80.5 ppg.). Where the Warriors have struggled is on the defensive end, as they are 15th in the league in both points allowed (76.0 ppg.) and opponent three-point field goal percentage (40.0 percent).
Junior center Shareta Brown is in her first year at Wayne State after transferring from Detroit Mercy. She is tied for the conference lead in scoring (21.2 ppg.) and leads the conference in field goal percentage (71.2 percent). Brown is second in rebounding (10.0 rpg.). She has two double-doubles on the year with her last coming against Ohio Dominican, where she had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Another transfer from Detroit Mercy and in her first year at Wayne State is junior guard Des Lavita-Stephens. She is the team's second leading scorer at 16.2 ppg., and ranks 10th in the GLIAC. Lavita-Stephens is a prolific shooter, ranking fifth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (53.3 percent) and ninth in field goal percentage (57.1 percent). She has scored in double figures in all four games this season and had a season-high 24 points against Tiffin.
Carrie Lohr is in her third season as the head coach at Wayne State and has won 34 games in her first two seasons. Last year's regional runner-up team finished 22-9 and shared the GLIAC North crown with Michigan Tech. Before arriving at Wayne State, Lohr coached at the junior college level, winning 166 games in nine seasons.
Eagles-Warriors
Ashland leads the all-time series with Wayne State, 32-13. The Eagles have won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Warriors and haven't lost since a 77-75 road decision on Dec. 4, 2010. The Eagles swept the Warriors last year, winning in the regular season in Detroit, 77-58 then again at home in the regional final. In the 2011-12 season, Ashland scored a school-record 112 points against the Warriors on Jan. 26, 2012. In last year's regional final game, Ashland trailed by six with 8:54 to play, but finished the game on a 22-7 run and sealed the win by shooting 20-of-24 from the free throw line. Woods finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
About New York Institute of Technology
The Bears are 2-3 overall and are winless in the East Coast Conference as of Dec. 11. The team is a young group that has nine freshmen and sophomores on the roster and just three seniors…their leader is senior guard Alexandra Venuto, who has played in 84 career games in her first three seasons…Anthony Crocitto enters his fourth season as the head coach. He has a 28-54 record in his first three years at NYIT and a career mark of 64-97 in six seasons…this is the first meeting between the Eagles and Bears.
Up Next
Ashland won't take the court until 2014. The Eagles are at Northwood on Jan. 2 before heading to the Upper Peninsula for a meeting with Lake Superior State on Jan. 4.
AU
WBB/MB
