Ashland Women Fall Late At Home To Cardinals

Returning to Kates Gymnasium to start a two-game Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference set, Ashland University's women's basketball team lost to Saginaw Valley State on Friday (Jan. 22), 73-70.

"Losing's never easy, especially the way we lost tonight," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens. "We came out and got punched first, made a heck of a comeback in the third that I was really proud of, but we can't continue to have such slow starts to where we have such a long way to come back.
 
"We have to get better and get ready for tomorrow. As painful as that loss is, I want to win tomorrow, so that's what we have to prepare for."
 
Both teams now are 2-3 overall and in the GLIAC. The Eagles and Cardinals will play again on Saturday (Jan. 23) at 4 p.m. at "The Kates."
 
CARDINALS PULL AWAY LATE IN OTHERWISE TIGHT FIRST QUARTER
The first couple minutes were a feeling-out time for both teams offensively, then senior forward Karlee Pireu converted two straight baskets and two free throws for Ashland's first lead at 6-2. The Cardinals then scored seven points in a row, and the early seesaw affair was on.

Ashland displayed strong defense for the majority of the game's first 10 minutes, but the Cardinals ran off six straight points to take an 18-10 lead into the second quarter. Pireu had nine points, three rebounds and a steal in the opening stanza.
 
PIREU, WARREN PACE AU'S SCORING IN FIRST HALF
The Eagles' second-quarter comeback began when senior guard Hallie Heidemann hit a triple on one end, then drew a charge on the other. Heidemann then converted a steal into a Pireu fast-break layup, cutting the deficit to 20-15. After freshman forward Erica Warren converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, AU trailed by just two points at 20-18, then Pireu's long jumper knotted the contest at 20.

Warren gave Ashland the lead once again (23-22) with a corner trey right before the second-quarter media timeout, but Saginaw Valley had another answer with five points in a row. By halftime, the Cardinals led 33-27, and Pireu (15) and Warren (eight) combined for 23 of AU's points.
 
10-0 RUN PULLS EAGLES EVEN WITH CARDINALS AFTER THREE
With 7:06 to go in the third quarter, SVSU took its largest lead of the game at 41-29 on a Maddie Maloney 3-pointer. Then, after scoring four straight points, the Eagles, at the 5:27 mark, were in the bonus for the remainder of the period.

Trailing 51-41 late in the third, another old-fashioned 3-point conversion from Warren sparked a 10-0 run to end the stanza – capped off by a Pireu fast-break layup on a Warren assist following a steal. The Eagles and Cardinals went into the fourth knotted at 51, and free throws were a factor – 11-of-12 for AU in the third, 2-2 for SVSU.
Pireu had a double-double with 10 minutes to play – 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 
LATE LAYUP LIFTS CARDINALS TO VICTORY
Heidemann's triple early in the fourth lifted AU to a 54-53 advantage, and the lead changed hands several times early in the final period. Pireu's 3-pointer re-tied the game for the fifth time at 59 with seven minutes to go, then she did it again less than 30 seconds later for a sixth tie in the game at 62.

The Cardinals bounced back with a 6-2 spurt to regain control, and with 2:45 to go, Ashland had the ball, but the clock was ticking. Roshak went in for a layup to make it a two-point game at 68-66, and after four straight missed Cardinal charity tosses, Roshak's layup with 64 ticks to go tied the game a seventh time at 68.

Tori DePerry made 1-of-2 from the line with 32.2 seconds to go to give SVSU a one-point lead. Another Roshak layup with 27 seconds to go lifted AU to a 70-69, then DePerry made a layup with 11 seconds left on the clock.

After a kicked ball set up another inbounds pass with 8.8 seconds left, a last-second Eagle layup attempt fell away.
 
THE SUMMARY
Pireu ended with a career-high 30 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 39 minutes on the floor. She added three assists and two steals.

"Karlee played outstanding," Pickens said. "She played fearless, she played aggressive, she played to win. But as we've seen time and time again, it doesn't matter if one person does that. We need a team to do that, so we have to be able to make those changes and get after it tomorrow."

Four Eagles scored in double figures – Pireu, Roshak (13), Heidemann (13) and Warren (11).

For the Cardinals, Kaitlyn Zarycki led the way with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.