2012-13 Title Team Honored, Then No. 5 Eagles Stay Undefeated

Saturday (Nov. 19) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium was an opportunity for Ashland University's women's basketball team to honor the past and keep the winning going moving forward.
 
And after the 2012-13 NCAA Division II national championship team was recognized prior to tip-off, the No. 5-ranked Eagles moved to 4-0 on the young 2022-23 season after an 83-65 victory over Lewis. Ashland is 4-0, and the Flyers are 0-3.
 
"Lewis is a good basketball team. I think they're going to have a successful season," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens. "I thought that we came out in the first quarter with a ton of energy. We really set the tone for what we can do this season.
 
"I thought the rest of the game, there were too many lulls. We would go on a run, and we would let them right back in."
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ashland came out gunning, taking a 10-0 lead which prompted a Lewis timeout. The streak ended at 12-0, but the Eagles extended their advantage at the end of the first 10 minutes to 25-8. AU shot 9-of-16 from the field, kept the Flyers to 4-of-15, and turned nine Lewis turnovers into seven points.
• The Eagles' biggest lead was 32-8 in the second quarter. By halftime, Ashland led by a 41-25 advantage, and the catalyst was a defense which kept the Flyers to 33.3 percent from the field and 2-for-10 from 3-point range, and which forced 13 turnovers.
• Lewis kept creeping back into the game, trailing by 10 points at 43-33 with 5:36 left in the third quarter – which led to an AU stoppage. That turned the tables for the Eagles, and after three, their lead was 60-42.
• The Flyers kept coming in the fourth quarter, threatening to cut the deficit to single digits. Ashland, however, had other ideas, keeping Lewis at arm's length for the remainder of the contest.

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Fifth-year guard Hallie Heidemann scored 15 points to pace Ashland, and moved into 15^th place on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,261 career points. Heidemann also has 271 career 3-point field goals, three shy of tying Taylor Woods (274) for the program's all-time benchmark.
• "This team has been super fun to be a part of," Heidemann said. "We have meshed together really well. It's just a matter of seeing it come together in one 40-minute setting. It (the record) would be a testament to the coaches who have coached me, and the players that I've gotten to play with."
• Senior forward Annie Roshak and sophomore forward Zoe Miller each had 14 points in the victory, and sophomore forward Hayley Smith chipped in with a dozen points.
• The Eagles made 50.8 percent from the field, and, defensively, Ashland turned Lewis over 24 times.
• Ashland is 23-0 all-time as the No. 5-ranked team in NCAA Division II.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland heads on the road to take on Truman State (2-2) on Tuesday (Nov. 22) at 2 p.m. East (1 p.m. local) for the start of Drury's Oasis Hotel & Convention Center Thanksgiving Classic.