Heidemann’s Long Triple Lifts No. 2 AU To Regional Semis

Thanks to one of the most clutch shots in the history of the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the No. 2-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team lives to see another day in 2021-22.
 
Senior guard Hallie Heidemann's 30-plus-foot 3-pointer with six seconds to go led to the Eagles' 76-73 home win over Ferris State in an NCAA Division II Midwest Regional quarterfinal on Friday (March 11) night.
 
"Wow, did our team ever show some resiliency," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens, "and I'm really proud of them for that. It was just a fun basketball game."
 
Ashland (29-2) moves on to the regional semifinal on Saturday (March 12) at 7:30 p.m. at home vs. No. 18 Walsh. It will be the fourth meeting of 2021-22 between the Eagles and Cavaliers, with AU winning two of the first three.
 
Friday night's game was the Eagles' seventh consecutive victory, with four of those coming by seven, six, four and three points.
 
"I thought, down the stretch, we were very composed," Pickens said. "We couldn't get a stop in the second half…until it mattered down the stretch."
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Ferris State led 73-69 with 1:58 to go, then sophomore guard Macy Spielman cut the deficit in half with a driving layup. Needing a stop to try for the tie or the win at the end, AU got it with a shot-clock violation.
• Then, with six seconds left, Heidemann made her long-range triple to give the Eagles the lead. After three timeouts, Ashland forced a Bulldog turnover with 1.8 ticks to go.
• Ferris State was called for an intentional foul with 0.7 seconds left, and junior forward Annie Roshak made both free throws for the final margin of victory.
• Ferris State (22-10) led 9-5 early before freshman guard Morgan Yoder's 3-point field goal made it a one-point game. The Bulldogs, however, continued to execute on both ends of the floor, and increased their lead to 14-8.
• Ashland chipped away at its deficit for the remainder of the first half, but the Bulldogs led 16-15 after the first 10 minutes. The biggest statistic in the opening quarter was FSU scoring five points off four Eagle turnovers.
• With 8:07 left until halftime, senior forward Karlee Pireu tied the game at 18 with a layup, then a fast-break layup from Spielman put AU ahead for the first time at 20-18.
• At the second-quarter media timeout, the Eagles led 25-22. By halftime, however, Ashland had a 33-26 advantage, thanks to a defense which kept FSU to 34.5-percent shooting and 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.
• Ferris State used an 11-4 spurt to start the third quarter to knot the game at 37-all, and the rest of the period was back-and forth. With 10 minutes of regulation to go, Ashland led 54-49, thanks to the Eagles making 9-of-12 from the field in the stanza.
• There continued to be little room between the Eagles and Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, and with 5:40 left in regulation, Ashland led by two at 62-60. A slim one-point lead turned into four thanks to a triple from senior guard Erin Daniels, but with 3:55 to go, the Bulldogs re-tied the game at 67.
• Roshak quickly responded with a layup, but two FSU charity tosses resulted in the game's seventh tie. With 2:45 showing on the clock, the Bulldogs took their first lead since early in the second quarter on a free throw.

 
THE WRAP-UP

• Spielman, in her first NCAA postseason game, paced the Eagles with 18 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
• Pireu followed with 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field, and added a team-high eight rebounds. Roshak, who late on Thursday (March 10) was named to the first team of the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Midwest Region team, went for 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
• With 1,323 career points, Roshak moves into 12^th place on Ashland's all-time scoring list.
• Heidemann rounded out four AU players in double-digit scoring with 13 points to go with five assists and two steals. Her 1,207 career points now make her the 20^th-most proficient scorer in program history.
• Ashland dished out 21 assists on 28 made field goals, and hit 56.0 percent from the floor – the highest in program history in an NCAA Tournament contest.
• "Offensively, there were so many things we did well," said Pickens.
• In the first two games on Friday, No. 5-ranked Drury topped No. RV Missouri-St. Louis, 65-49, and No. 6-ranked Grand Valley State defeated Wayne State, 72-46. The Panthers and Lakers will play in the first regional semifinal on Saturday at 5 p.m.
• The Eagles are 29-6 all-time in the NCAA postseason, and 14-1 at home in the NCAA playoffs. Ashland is 115-4 in its last 119 home games, and 47-2 as the No. 2-ranked team in the country.