Box Score Returning to what had become unfamiliar territory – its home floor at Kates Gymnasium – the No. 12-ranked Ashland University's women's basketball team improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference following an 80-42 win over Hillsdale (4-3, 1-2) on Wednesday (Dec. 9) night.
The GLIAC home opener was just the second home game of 2015-16 for the Eagles.
Ashland has won 10 consecutive GLIAC regular-season home games, and is 45-8 (.849) in its last 53 such contests.
Senior guard McKenzie Miller continued her recent sharpshooting, pacing the Eagles in scoring for the third consecutive game with 22 points thanks to an 8-of-10 effort from the field and a 6-for-7 showing from the 3-point line. Miller added five assists, five steals and three rebounds.
"I'm just glad she's on our team," said Ashland head coach Robyn Fralick. "She's shooting lights out. She's playing confident. It's fun to watch. It's been fun to watch her turn it on."
In the last three contests, Miller has hit 20-of-29 (69.0 percent) shots from the field and 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) tries from distance.
Sophomore forward Andi Daugherty added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, while sophomore forward Laina Snyder posted her 18th career double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds) to go with three assists and a team-high six steals.
Ashland finished with 22 team steals – three shy of the school record. Hillsdale's 28 turnovers resulted in 30 AU points. The Eagles also kept the Chargers to 26.7-percent shooting from the field and 23.1-percent shooting from the 3-point line.
"We knew coming in they like to space the court and really attack off the dribble," Fralick said. "I thought we did a good job filling up the gaps. Got a lot of hands on the ball."
The Eagles wasted little time setting the tone, scoring the first seven points and taking a 24-5 lead. AU took a 51-21 advantage into halftime.
Ashland will continue its four-game homestand on Saturday (Dec. 12) at 1 p.m. against Saginaw Valley State (4-3, 1-1).
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