Box Score When the clock strikes midnight, one day ends and another begins.
Turn over the hour glass.
Re-calibrate the sun dial.
On Thursday (Jan. 23), the AU women's basketball team ran away from Findlay and won on the road. That same night, the Hillsdale Chargers were upset - at home - by Lake Erie.
Two days later - on Saturday (Jan. 25) in Hillsdale - the Chargers played with the lead all afternoon and stunned the Eagles, 82-72.
Living each day to the fullest - in basketball terms - never seemed so relevant.
This is why coaches preach about not looking too far away and focusing on one game at a time. Hillsdale (6-10/5-7) played well for 40 minutes and ended a four-game losing streak against the Eagles (9-7/7-5).
The Eagles trailed at halftime, 36-27. HC kept that lead and at times, upped the margin into double digits, early in the second half. With 11:55 to go in the game, AU guard Alyssa Miller's free throw narrowed the HC lead to 48-45. But the Chargers answered with a 7-0 run to push the lead back up to 55-45 with 10:17 left.
That Hillsdale spurt included a layup by Sarah Theut, a layup by Megan Fogt and a three-pointer by Kadie Lowery. Ashland did get the lead down to five points with 4:26 to play, but could get no closer.
Fogt, as she has done all season, was a monster on the boards. She had 22 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass. HC out-rebounded the Eagles, 51-34 and led in second chance points, 20-8. Fogt had 16 points and 22 rebounds. In the second half she scored 12 points and gathered 15 rebounds.
The Chargers also had a 40-24 edge in points in the paint and led in bench points, 38-23. Still, AU was able to climb back into the game in the second half by forcing turnovers. In points off of turnovers Ashland had an 18-7 edge. AU forced 21 turnovers, nine in the second half.
Five AU players reached double digits in scoring. Forward Suzy Wollenhaupt had 13 points and three rebounds. However, she had to leave early for the second consecutive game with five fouls.
Alyssa Miller had 12 points, as did guards Kelsey Peare and McKenzie Miller. Rachelle Morrison came off the bench to score 10 points, all in the second half. She was 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range.
Guard Taylor Woods, AU's leading scorer, was held scoreless in 23 minutes. Woods suffered a right hand injury on Thursday and was not at 100 percent for this contest. Woods averages 17.1 ppg.
With the loss, the Eagles dropped into second place in the GLIAC South Division. The Eagles began the day tied with Malone for the top spot in the division. The Pioneers won at home against Ohio Dominican, 60-45 on Saturday.
The Eagles return home on Thursday (Jan. 30, 5:30 p.m.) when Ohio Dominican comes to Kates Gymnasium.
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