Finishing off the pre-Christmas portion of the 2021-22 schedule, the No. 9-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team topped Le Moyne, 87-49, on Monday (Dec. 20) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium – and the Eagles turned in yet another milestone in the process.
Junior forward
Annie Roshak became the 27
th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, and the second in as many games, following senior guard
Hallie Heidemann on Saturday (Dec. 18) at Tiffin.
"I'm just super grateful for Ashland and the opportunity to play here, for my teammates, for my coaches," Roshak said. "Just every day is super fun coming in, and it makes what I do a lot easier. And I'm thankful to God for the ability to play. It's a blessing."
Said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens, "That is a testament to Annie's hard work. While she's scored 1,000 points and is a very good scorer, she has really grown as a rebounder, as a defender. When Annie Ro was on the floor today, we were a lot better as a collective team, and I am really proud of her for that."
The Eagles are 9-1 through the season's first 10 games thanks to a six-game winning streak, and the Dolphins are 4-2.
"Le Moyne's a good team, and I thought that we played really well against a good team," Pickens said. "It's a growing process. Over the course of the season, we have to continue to take steps forward, and we had some big areas of growth in things that we needed to see today, and I'm proud of our team for that."
Ashland also is 103-3 (.972) at home since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
"I love playing in Kates Gym," Pickens said. "It holds a special place in my heart, but our fan support, it's truly remarkable."
WHAT HAPPENED
- Ashland jumped out to a 9-2 lead before Le Moyne called a timeout at the 5:47 mark of the first quarter. At that point, the Eagles forced five Dolphin turnovers. By the end of the first 10 minutes, Ashland had run out to a 24-5 lead, and Le Moyne turned the ball over eight times and took nine shots from the floor.
- The Eagles kept coming, extending their advantage to 31-5 just 2:15 into the second quarter. By halftime, the lead was 48-16, and Roshak scored 16 points – three away from the milestone. Ashland posted 13 points off 11 Le Moyne turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
- Roshak reached the 1,000-point mark at the free-throw line early in the third quarter, and made it 1,001 points by making the second charity tosses. She finished with a game-high 22 points in 24 minutes, and added eight rebounds and five steals.
- Heidemann was right behind in the scoring column with 20 points in 21 minutes, and senior forward Karlee Pireu turned in a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) in the victory.
- The Eagle defense kept the Dolphins to 37.3 percent from the field, but Lytoya Baker ended the afternoon with 12 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
Ashland's women will return to the court on Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at home against Great Midwest Athletic Conference rival Malone.
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