No. 3 Eagles Survive Top-10 Matchup At No. 7 Panthers In OT Thriller

Potentially the best game in the history of NCAA Division II women's basketball never got played, as on March 16, 2020, No. 1-ranked Drury and No. 2-ranked Ashland University may have played in a Midwest Regional championship game, with both being undefeated.
 
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented that game, and the entire regional, from being played. On Wednesday (Nov. 23) night, the No. 3-ranked Eagles and No. 7-ranked Panthers matched up for the first time in the regular season, and Ashland held on for a 68-67 overtime victory.
 
Ashland is 6-0 heading into conference play, while Drury is 4-1. The Eagles now lead the all-time series with the Panthers, 3-2.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The scoring pace was slow at first, with Ashland leading 8-7 at the 4:37 mark of the opening quarter. The end of that opening period saw the Eagles with a 16-15 lead, and an 11-4 rebounding advantage. Drury scored eight of its points off five AU turnovers.
• Fitting of a game between two top 10 teams, the first half featured nine lead changes and six ties, and at the break, Ashland led, 32-27. Drury led 20-19 in the second quarter before the Eagles outscored the Panthers 13-7 for the rest of the half.
• In the first 20 minutes, Ashland hit 52.0 percent from the field and all five free throws, and Drury made 37.0 percent from the floor and 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Eagles also had a rebounding margin of 21-10 in the opening half.
• The scoring early in the third quarter mirrored that of early in the first quarter, but, out of the media timeout in the third, junior guard Macy Spielman's basket gave AU its largest lead at 40-31.
• Heading into the final period, Drury succeeded in chipping away at its deficit, scoring the last seven points and trailing by just two points at 46-44. The Panthers then tied the game at 46 early in the fourth, then took a 50-49 lead with 8:23 left in regulation.
• Fifth-year guard Hallie Heidemann put AU ahead 53-50 early in the fourth with a 3-point field goal which tied her with Taylor Woods for the most in program history with 274. Drury, however, scored the next six points to regain the advantage.
• Sophomore forward Hayley Smith's triple re-tied the game at 56 – the game's ninth tie score – then sophomore guard Morgan Yoder's free throw put AU back ahead at 57-56.
• Following a steal by junior guard Savaya Brockington, senior forward Annie Roshak's layup made it 59-56. An old-fashioned 3-point play for Drury with 39 seconds left knotted the game at 59-all, and that set up overtime.
• Trailing 65-61 in the extra session, Roshak scored four points in a row for yet another tie at 65-65. Yoder's triple put Ashland ahead for the first time in OT at 68-65.
• Drury had one last shot at the end of overtime for the win, but it clanged away for the Eagle victory.

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Roshak, Heidemann and Smith each scored 10 points to lead Ashland. Heidemann moved into 14^th place on Ashland's all-time scoring list with 1,277 career points.
• The Eagles made 50.9 percent from the field and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, and kept the Panthers to 44.3 percent from from the floor and 2-of-8 from downtown.
• Wednesday night's game featured 15 lead changes and 13 tie scores.
• Ashland is 15-3 all-time as the No. 3-ranked team in NCAA Division II.

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will begin Great Midwest Athletic Conference play on Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Findlay (3-2).