Box Score LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
Two quarters of stifling defense was the catalyst in the No. 2-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team's 81-58 win over Northwood on Thursday (Jan. 23) night at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles, who have defeated the Timberwolves 10 consecutive times, continue to lead the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings at 18-0 overall and 10-0 in the league. Northwood is 4-14, 2-8. Ashland entered the night as one of only three undefeated teams in NCAA Division II.
"It's always good to get a win," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens, who has won 47 of her first 50 games (.940) guiding the Eagles. "Our team knows that we've got to continue to get better. It wasn't our best performance, particularly in the fourth quarter."
In the second and third quarters, the Eagles kept the Timberwolves to a total of 18 points, forcing 15 turnovers and holding Northwood to 7-of-23 shooting from the field and 0-of-5 from the 3-point arc.
THE EAGLES TRAILED…BRIEFLY…IN A TIGHT FIRST QUARTER
Ashland trailed for the first 1:59 of the game, then sophomore guard Hallie Heidemann's 3-pointer put the Eagles up 5-3. Heidemann, the reigning GLIAC South Division Player of the Week, made the second shot in what would end up being a 16-2 run before Northwood called a timeout at the 5:43 mark.
The Timberwolves, however, came out of that break scoring the game's next eight points to cut the deficit to three. Ashland came away from the first 10 minutes leading 26-20, as an 11-of-18 shooting period negated four Northwood triples.
HART, ROSHAK ADD SPARK TO START SECOND
The lineup for the second quarter changed on Ashland's side, as Pickens went with senior guard/forward Sarah Hart and freshman forward Annie Roshak to begin the stanza. The Eagles went on a 13-2 run prior to the second-quarter media timeout to extend their advantage to 17 points at 39-22.
"We did it mainly because I felt we were having too many turnovers," Pickens said of the lineup shuffle. "We wanted to mix it up, and I thought that group of five did a really good job defensively…and then pushing in transition. We really opened up the basketball game those first four minutes of the second quarter."
By halftime, Ashland's lead was 45-27, and a big factor was turnovers. Northwood turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 18 Eagle points. AU also limited the T'Wolves to just one 3-point attempt in the second quarter.
EAGLES SLOWLY EXTEND LEAD IN THIRD
Ashland's lead crept up as the third quarter went on, and after three periods, it was 63-38. Defense was key again for the Eagles, who, through the first 30 minutes, kept the Timberwolves to 36.6 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range, and forced 22 turnovers which led to 29 points.
STIMPERT INCHES CLOSER TO A SELECT D-II GROUP
Senior point guard Renee Stimpert led Ashland with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
She moved into 20th place on the Eagles' all-time scoring list with 1,083 in her career, and with 746 career helpers, she is just four away from becoming the 12th NCAA Division II women's basketball player with at least 1,000 points and 750 assists.
ROSHAK STEPS UP AGAIN OFF THE BENCH
Roshak ended her night with 10 points and a career-high seven rebounds in just 16 minutes. She also was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, tying AU's single-game best for charity tosses made by an individual in 2019-20.
"Annie played fantastic," Pickens said. "That's the hardest I've seen her offensive rebound. And then knocking down free throws. It is a very underrated skill set. She stepped up to the line, knocked down some big free throws for us."
THE SUMMARY
Stimpert and Roshak were two of six AU players in double-digit scoring on Thursday night, along with junior forward Karlee Pireu (14), senior forward Sara Loomis (12), senior guard Jodi Johnson (11) and Heidemann (10).
Loomis now has 1,259 career points, passing Daiva Gerbec for 12th place on AU's all-time scoring list.
Ashland forced 28 Timberwolves miscues, resulting in 33 Eagle points.
For Northwood, Hunter Viitala led the way with 18 points.
THERE CERTAINLY IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Thursday's game was the start of a four-game home stand for the Eagles. The last time Ashland played at least four straight GLIAC games at Kates Gymnasium was at the end of the 2017-18 season, when it hosted five in a row between the end of the regular season and the GLIAC Tournament.
The Eagles have won 141 of their last 151 games (.934) at "The Kates," and 26 home games in a row in the month of January.
NEXT UP – SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
The home stand will continue on Saturday (Jan. 25) at 1 p.m. vs. Saginaw Valley State (8-10, 4-6).
Ashland has topped the Cardinals 12 consecutive times.
"I know our girls are eager to get back onto the court on Saturday to make some changes and put together a 40-minute basketball game," Pickens said.
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