Box Score It was Feb. 4 – 30 days ago.
It was Ashland University's first – and only – loss of the 2015-16 season to date, a 68-59 decision at Walsh.
Since then, the No. 5-ranked Eagles haven't looked back, and against Walsh at home in a 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal on Saturday (March 5) afternoon, they won 68-59 to get one step closer to their third tourney championship in the last five seasons.
Ashland is 29-1 following its eighth consecutive win and 28th in a row at Kates Gymnasium, and will play in the GLIAC Tournament championship game on Sunday (March 6) at 1:30 p.m. against Grand Valley State (22-8).
The Eagles are 18-1 (.947) in their last 19 home postseason (GLIAC Tournament and Midwest Regional tournament) games.
The Cavaliers are 20-9.
Sophomore forward Andi Daugherty led the way for AU with 23 points, six rebounds and three assists.
"When we found out we were playing Walsh, there's definitely a motivation factor," Daugherty said. "It burns a little bit. We knew we needed to play tougher, and I thought we did."
Freshman guard Maddie Dackin came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
"Maddie and Brooke (Smith) were really big tonight, on both ends," Ashland head coach Robyn Fralick said of her two freshmen. "They've been ready for it, and they've really stepped up."
Coach Fralick Post-Game Comments
Sophomore forward Laina Snyder added 11 points, a team-high seven boards, two assists and two steals.
The Eagles made 26-of-34 free throws (76.5 percent) and turned 16 Cavalier turnovers into 16 points.
Walsh had a 10-6 lead inside of the five-minute mark of the first quarter, then Ashland ended the period on an 8-0 run. In all, the Eagles kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard for more than 7½ minutes, and eventually had a 16-10 advantage.
Ashland's biggest first-half lead was 23-16 with 4½ minutes until halftime, but Walsh pulled even at the break, 29-29. In the first 20 minutes, there were three ties and five lead changes.
The Eagles came out and scored the third quarter's first six points, but the momentum was halted there. The Cavaliers scored the next 11 points to take a 40-35 lead.
Walsh led after three quarters, 48-43, and had a 54-48 advantage with six minutes left to play. The Cavs led 59-58 with three minutes to go, then Ashland scored the game's last 10 points to take the lead, then pull away.
Dackin scored four of her points in the final two minutes of the victory.
"We worked really hard in the fourth quarter," Dackin said. "I know I have go in there and contribute something."
THE NOTEBOOK: Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Ashland is 161-32 (.834) overall, and 86-10 (.896) at home…Ashland's 16-0 home record in 2015-16 is third-best in program history (20-0 in 2012-13, 19-0 in 2011-12), as are the Eagles' 29 wins (37 in 2012-13, 33 in 2011-12)…Ashland improves to 20-14 all-time and 2-0 against the Cavaliers in the GLIAC Tournament…Snyder, Daugherty and/or Julie Worley have led or co-led Ashland in rebounds in 63 of 64 career games.
AU
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