In the 2022-23 lid-lifter for both teams, the No. 5-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team won at Wayne State, 87-61, on Friday (Nov. 11) night.
 
The victory is the Eagles' eighth in a row in a season-opener, and puts head coach Kari Pickens in a tie with Karen Linder for second place on the program's all-time head-coaching wins list with 106.
 
Ashland also is 20-0 all-time as the No. 5 team in the country.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ashland ran out to an 11-1 lead just more than four minutes into the contest, forcing five Warrior turnovers in the process. The gap got bigger as the first quarter continued, and at the end of the period, the Eagles had a 26-8 advantage – thanks to 10-of-17 shooting from the field, eight assists, and a defensive effort which kept WSU to 3-of-13 from the field and forced eight turnovers.
• By halftime, the Eagles' lead had grown to 46-20, thanks to a strong effort on both sides of the floor – a defense which forced 18 turnovers and kept the Warriors to 8-of-24 from the floor, and an offense which made 56.7 percent from the field and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Zoe Miller had 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench in her first half of play at Ashland.
• Wayne State cut its deficit to 55-37 in the third quarter, but Ashland righted itself by ending the period outscoring the Warriors 17-9, and taking a 72-46 lead into the final 10 minutes. The fourth quarter began with the Eagles going on a 9-2 run in the first two minutes, capping the victory.

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Miller finished the night as the game's leading scorer with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while fifth-year point guard Maddie Maloney, in her first game at AU, added 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 4-of-4 from 3-point range off the bench.
• Rounding out five Eagles in double-digit scoring were sophomore forward Hayley Smith (12 points, eight rebounds, 6-of-9 shooting), senior forward Annie Roshak (11 points, nine rebounds) and sophomore forward Sarah McKee (10 points on 4-of-5 shooting), in her first start as an Eagle.
• Ashland started the new campaign shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 93.3 percent from the free-throw line, having a decided 42-23 rebounding margin, and assisting on 23 of 34 field goals.
• Defensively, the Eagles kept the Warriors to 37.7 percent from the field and 0-of-12 from downtown, while forcing 25 turnovers which turned into 23 points.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland's quick two-game road trip to begin the new season will conclude on Sunday (Nov. 13) at 1 p.m. at Indianapolis (0-1).