It was steady as it goes for the No. 2-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team on Saturday (Jan. 29) afternoon, as the Eagles earned their 14
th consecutive victory, 74-57, at Ursuline.
Thanks to that win, Ashland improves to 17-1 overall and 12-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the Arrows are 8-11, 5-9.
"I was really proud of just our team in general," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens, now 80 games over .500 in her head coaching career (93-13). "We had a lot of people step up. I'm excited to continue to figure this team out. We have a lot of depth, and we're still trying to figure out how it all works together. We're taking steps forward in that."
WHAT HAPPENED
- Ursuline led 5-4 early, then Ashland finished the first quarter on a 11-2 run to lead 15-7 after the first 10 minutes. The Eagles had a 16-7 rebounding advantage in the first period, and junior forward Annie Roshak (seven) and sophomore forward Macy Spielman (six) combined for 13 of the 15 AU points.
- A 5-0 Arrow spurt cut the Eagle lead to 26-22 late in the first half, then senior forward Karlee Pireu's 3-point field goal put an end to that. That also helped Ashland take a 35-26 lead into halftime, as the Eagles hit 50.0 percent from the field at the break, and kept Ursuline to 2-of-11 from beyond the arc.
- In the third quarter, Ashland kept Ursuline at arm's length, outscoring the Arrows 22-19 to take a 60-45 lead into the final period. Spielman scored the last five points of the quarter to get the lead to 15 heading into the fourth.
- Ursuline made it a 12-point game at 64-52, but the Eagles ended the contest on a 10-5 run to close it out.
THE WRAP-UP
- Ashland received the biggest games on Saturday from Roshak (25 points, 9-of-14 FG, eight rebounds, two blocks), Pireu (19 points, 8-of-13 FG, 10 rebounds) and Spielman (17 points, 7-of-10 FG).
- The Eagles shot 48.4 percent from the field, while boasting a wide 44-23 rebounding margin. They also limited the Arrows to 38.6 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from beyond the arc.
- "We knew that (the rebounding) was going to be a big part coming into today's game, and I think we capitalized on that," Pickens said.
UP NEXT
Ashland will return to the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium on Monday (Jan. 31) at 2 p.m. to take on Trevecca Nazarene (3-13, 2-8).
AU
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