Shorthanded No. 5 Eagle Women Top ODU At Home

Playing with only nine players dressed on Thursday (Jan. 20) night, the No. 5-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 72-53 victory over Ohio Dominican at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
 
The Eagles, thanks to their 11^th consecutive win, improve to 14-1 overall and 9-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Panthers are 3-14, 3-8.
 
"I thought we put together a really, really strong second half," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens, now 90-13 guiding the Eagles. "I love that we won every quarter, as well. It's a testament to the depth that this team has, and I couldn't be more proud of our players."
 
Ashland is 170-8 all-time as a top-five team in the nation, and is 15-0 all-time playing as the No. 5 team in the country.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ohio Dominican scored the game's first two points – followed by nine straight points for the Eagles. The low-scoring first quarter ended with Ashland leading 13-10, thanks to a defensive effort which kept ODU to 4-of-13 from the floor.
• A 7-2 spurt to start the second quarter put Ashland ahead 20-12, then the scoring pace picked up on both sides. By halftime, the Eagles led 30-25, and the offense was buoyed by sophomore guard Macy Spielman (12 points) and senior guard Erin Daniels (10).
• Ashland pulled away to start the second half, but ODU wouldn't go away. At the third-quarter media stoppage, the Eagles led 41-34, and Daniels and Spielman kept leading the offense with 15 points each.
• At the end of the third quarter, Ashland had its largest lead to that point at 55-39, and Daniels (career-high) and Spielman each had 19 points. The Eagles kept the Panthers to 4-of-14 from the field in the third period.
• Ashland's biggest lead came in the fourth quarter, a 21-point advantage at 67-46.

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Both Spielman (23 points) and Daniels (22) posted career highs on Thursday night – Spielman doing so for the second game in a row. Spielman was 9-of-12 from the field, Daniels 8-of-16.
• "This year, it's such a special year," Daniels said. "The girls on this team make it that way. They make me want to play confident. It's senior year. Might as well go out with a bang."
• "I can't give her (Daniels) enough credit," Pickens said. "She kept getting better and kept improving. She was one of the best players on the court, from start to finish."
• Both freshman forward Hayley Smith (15 points, 11 rebounds) and senior forward Karlee Pireu (10 points, 14 rebounds) recorded double-double in the victory.
• Said Smith, "We faced different adversities. It's how we respond, and I think our whole team responded well today."
• "For Hayley, what a second half," said Pickens. "There was something that triggered in her heart and her mind that, in the second half, she was fearless and played free and confident."
• The Eagles had a decided 41-22 rebounding advantage, and made all nine attempts from the free-throw line. AU also had 20 second-chance points, and the Panthers had none.
• "I love that (rebounding) number," Pickens said. "It was a total team effort. We knew rebounding was going to be really, really important today."
• Ashland improves to 19-0 all-time vs. Ohio Dominican.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will continue its stretch of home games on Saturday (Jan. 22) at 1 p.m. against Cedarville (11-5, 6-4).