Box Score The players on Ashland University's women's basketball team has bought in – something which brings a big smile to head coach Sue Ramsey's face.
The Eagle women now have won three games in a row following an 86-36 win over Davis & Elkins Friday (Dec. 19) afternoon in Day 1 of the Holiday Inn Express Classic at Kates Gymnasium.
Ashland now is 5-4, and Davis & Elkins is 5-3.
"Total team effort," said Ramsey. "I'm just so proud of our team responding to practices and continuing to buy into our system. We needed time to learn to play together."
After starting 2-4, the Eagles have run off wins by 24 points at Hillsdale, 14 points at Saginaw Valley State and now 50 points against Davis & Elkins – Ashland's largest margin of victory since a 98-48 home win against Oakland City on Nov. 26, 2011.
The tide of the game turned in the first half when freshman forwards Laina Snyder and Julie Worley, both praised by Ramsey for their defense, came in to defend Davis & Elkins senior forward Sharmaine Baker. Snyder ended the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her second collegiate double-double, while Worley also came off the bench to post 11 points and seven boards.
Baker ended the night with seven points and seven rebounds.
Senior guard Taylor Woods paced Ashland's offense with 19 points, including five 3-pointers for the fourth consecutive game. Woods now is alone in 13th place on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,142 career points, and she has 194 career triples, eight shy of tying program all-time leader Karen Bley (202).
Junior guard McKenzie Miller had 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists, and now has 32 points in the last three games.
"Her confidence level has gone up," Ramsey said.
Ashland was a red-hot 10-of-16 from 3-point range and 16-for-19 from the free-throw line. The Eagles turned 26 Davis & Elkins turnovers into 32 points. Davis & Elkins scored no field goals and just three total points in the game's final 10 minutes.
"They really buy into the team concept," Ramsey said of her players. "Everyone's bought into the defense."
The Eagles will conclude Classic play Saturday at 3 p.m. against Urbana. In the Classic's first game Friday, Hillsdale (6-1) defeated Urbana (1-8), 82-65. Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason Player of the Year Megan Fogt had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Chargers.
"It's a strong tournament," Ramsey said. "We didn't invite teams in here that couldn't compete."
NOTES: A win against Urbana Saturday would give Ramsey a winning non-conference record in 17 of her 20 seasons guiding the Eagles…Snyder's team-leading 10 boards means Ashland now has been led/co-led in rebounds by a freshman in 11 straight games…The Eagles have played 18 halves of basketball in 2014-15, and have allowed 30 or fewer points to opponents in nine of them.
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