After a first-quarter struggle offensively, the still-shorthanded No. 5-ranked Ashland University women's basketball turned it on the last three periods to take a 69-47 decision from Cedarville on Monday (Jan. 24) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles move to 15-1 overall and 10-0 in the Great Midwest after their 12
th win in a row, while the Yellow Jackets are 11-6, 6-5.
"I thought there were a lot of great things about today's game," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens, "and there are a lot of things we have to continue to better at, but I'm going to celebrate the fact that we just beat a good team by 22 points, and we held them to 47."
Ashland is 171-8 all-time as a top-five team in NCAA Division II, and 16-0 all-time as the No. 5-ranked team in the nation. The Eagles also are 107-3 at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
WHAT HAPPENED
- The Eagles scored the game's first four points, all on free throws, and the Yellow Jackets didn't get on the board until a layup at the 7:01 mark of the first quarter. By the first-quarter media stoppage, neither team had found its offensive footing, but Ashland had the lead at 8-2.
- By the end of the first period, neither team had improved offensively, but the Eagles maintained their lead at 12-4. Ashland went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the opening stanza.
- The Eagles extended their advantage to 16-4 early in the second quarter, and they forced the Yellow Jackets into a timeout when it became a 21-7 contest. Cedarville chipped away at their deficit, but by halftime, the Ashland lead was back to double figures at 34-20.
- In the first half, the Eagles scored 12 points off nine Cedarville turnovers, and in the second quarter, AU made 50 percent from the floor.
- The Yellow Jackets kept coming to start the third quarter, and the deficit was 34-27 at the 6:15 mark. That's when senior guard Erin Daniels started to go to work – hitting a jumper and a 3-pointer consecutively to get the AU lead back to a dozen points at 39-27.
- Ashland pulled away to end the third quarter, ending it on a 14-3 run for a 53-32 lead going into the fourth.
THE WRAP-UP
- Sophomore guard Macy Spielman continued her recent tear, leading all scorers on Monday with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line. Spielman added eight rebounds.
- "I want to be the best I can be for this team," Spielman said. "It's an honor to have a leadership role on this team. This is a really cool group of girls."
- Junior forward Annie Roshak added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and freshman forward Hayley Smith collected a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds).
- "It was definitely an adjustment at first," Smith said of her rookie campaign. "The team, as a whole, has gotten into the flow of the season. We're a completely different group of girls. I think we bring it every day."
- The Eagles had a 42-34 rebounding advantage over the Yellow Jackets.
- Ashland made 13-of-14 from the free-throw line on Monday, and the Eagles are 45-for-52 (86.5 percent) from the charity stripe in the last four games.
- In the last five outings, the Eagles have kept opponents to 19-of-94 (20.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
- "I think our zone…has done a good job of taking people out of their comfort zone," Pickens said. "I'm really proud of our girls for staying disciplined in that."
UP NEXT
Ashland will go on the road for more Great Midwest action on Wednesday (Jan. 26) at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Erie (1-18, 0-13).
AU
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