Box Score LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
Maintaining its lead both in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference overall and South Division standings, the No. 3-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team won at Parkside on Saturday (Jan. 18) afternoon, 92-66.
The victory keeps the Eagles one of three undefeated NCAA Division II women's basketball sides, along with Drury and Texas A&M-Commerce, at 17-0 overall and 9-0 in the GLIAC. The Rangers are 10-7, 7-2.
After the Rangers took a 62-60 lead late in the third quarter, the Eagles scored 32 of the game's last 36 points.
Ashland is 7-0 all-time against Parkside.
ANOTHER "W" AGAINST A NORTH LEADER
The Eagles' win vs. the Rangers was yet another victory this season against a team which at the time was leading the GLIAC North Division. Parkside began Saturday with a two-game advantage over both Ferris State and Michigan Tech in the North.
Earlier this month, Ashland won at Northern Michigan when the Wildcats were North tri-leaders, then at Michigan Tech when the Huskies were North co-leaders.
SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE
Ashland and Parkside came into their matchup with the two top winning streaks in the GLIAC – the Eagles at 16 straight and the Rangers at eight in a row.
Extending its winning streak to 17 consecutive games, Ashland has its longest such run since the program's NCAA Division II basketball-record 73 wins in a row from Nov. 11, 2016-March 21, 2018.
THE FIRST QUARTERS SET THE TONE
After the first 10 minutes on Saturday, the Eagles led the Rangers, 28-12, as senior forward Sara Loomis and sophomore guard Hallie Heidemann each scored nine points.
This continued a season-long trend of Ashland, as its average first-quarter lead through 17 games in 2019-20 is nine points.
RANGERS RALLY IN SECOND WITH TREYS
Parkside outscored Ashland in the second quarter by a 26-18 count, but the Eagles still took a 46-38 lead into halftime.
In the first two quarters, the Rangers made six 3-point field goals – the most triples the Eagles have given up in a single game since 11 vs. Hillsdale at home on Dec. 20.
DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD DWINDLES IN THIRD
Ashland's largest advantage of the third quarter was 12 points at 52-40, and the Eagles led 60-54 late in the period. The Rangers, however, scored eight straight points to take a 62-60 lead of their own.
Heidemann, however, made consecutive triples to put AU back on top, 66-62, going into the final quarter.
EARLY-FOURTH RUN ALLOWS FOR PULL-AWAY
Yet another Heidemann trey 2½ minutes into the fourth quarter punctuated a 10-2 Eagles run to begin the stanza, giving Ashland a 76-64 lead before the Rangers took a timeout.
That run continued out of the timeout, and inside of the three-minute mark, the Eagles led 87-64 en route to the win.
HALLIE THE SHARPSHOOTER
Heidemann led all scorers on Saturday with 21 points, making 7-of-11 from the field and the 3-point line. She added four assists and three rebounds.
Over the last three games, Heidemann has made 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from the field, and 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
THE SUMMARY
In addition to Heidemann, Loomis (20), senior point guard Renee Stimpert (16), senior guard Jodi Johnson (13) and freshman forward Annie Roshak (11) also scored in double figures against the Rangers. Loomis' 1,247 career points move her to 13th on Ashland's all-time scoring list, and Stimpert's 1,066 career points places her 21st all-time.
The Eagles shot 54.7 percent from the field, 47.6 percent from downtown and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line, and turned 19 turnovers into 31 points. Ashland also boasted a 38-26 rebounding advantage.
THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT JANUARY
Saturday's victory moved Ashland's winning streak in January to 43 games, dating back to the 2014-15 season.
The Eagles' last loss in the first month on the calendar was 64-50 at Walsh on Jan. 15, 2015.
NEXT UP – NORTHWOOD
Ashland will return to Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Jan. 23) at 5:30 p.m. for another GLIAC game vs. Northwood.
The Eagles have defeated the Timberwolves nine consecutive times.
AU
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