COLUMBUS, Ohio – Playing again at the site of its 2017 NCAA Division II national championship, Alumni Hall on the campus of Ohio Dominican University, the No. 11-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team took a 77-53 decision from the host Panthers on Thursday (Dec. 2) night.
The game was the Eagles' first in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and they improve to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the league. ODU is 0-5, 0-1.
"I was really pleased with our performance today," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens. "In the first half, we did a few things defensively that weren't quite as sharp as we wanted it, but in the second half, we cleaned that up.
"We keep talking about our identity points and doing those really well, and I thought this was one of our best games where we put 40 minutes together like that."
Ashland is 18-0 all-time against Ohio Dominican, and is 32-1 in its last 33 games in the month of December.
WHAT HAPPENED
- A strong start on both ends of the floor lifted the Eagles to an early 9-2 lead, as the Panthers turned the ball over four times in the first four-plus minutes. Ashland took a 23-13 lead into the second quarter, thanks in part to turning seven ODU turnovers into seven points, and committing just one miscue in the opening stanza.
- Senior guard Hallie Heidemann caught fire to start the second quarter, scoring eight of her 14 points at that juncture in the first 2:34 of the period, as the Eagles led 33-16. Even with a 9-0 ODU run to end the first half, Ashland led 43-31 going into the locker room.
- Heidemann had 19 points in the first two quarters, including five 3-pointers, as the Eagles were 8-of-13 from downtown in the opening half. Ohio Dominican turned the ball over 15 times, resulting in 19 Eagle points, heading into the third quarter.
- Ashland made sure that late ODU run didn't spill over into the second half, as it scored the first four points of third quarter. The lead was 17 at 54-37 at the third-quarter media timeout, and by the end of the third, it was a 58-43 advantage, and Heidemann had 22 points.
- Heidemann paced four Eagles in double-digit scoring with 24 points, and junior forward Annie Roshak followed right behind with 20, to go with a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. Senior forward Karlee Pireu added 11 points off the bench, and freshman forward Hayley Smith finished with 10.
- The Eagles dished out a season-high 25 assists on 31 made baskets, and shot 47.7 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from 3-point range.
- "We shared the ball. We still need to clean up the turnovers," Pickens said. "It's a growing process, and I'm proud of the steps that we took today."
- The Eagles' plus-11 rebounding margin on Thursday (36-25) was a season-best.
- Defensively, AU forced 27 ODU turnovers, resulting in 29 points. The Panthers also were held to 40.9-percent shooting from the floor.
UP NEXT
Ashland will continue Great Midwest road play on Saturday (Dec. 4) at 2 p.m. at Cedarville (4-1, 1-0).
AU
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