In an NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinal on Saturday (March 12) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the No. 2-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team lost to No. 18-ranked Walsh, 72-62.
The Eagles' season ends at 29-3, while the Cavaliers are 28-4.
"A lot of credit to Walsh. We had to face them four times this year, and it was a battle every single game," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens. "They played really hard. I thought my team played hard, too, to the very end. I was proud of my fight.
"There are a few things, obviously, that we wish we could have cleaned up. At the end of the day, like we said in the locker room, the season isn't defined by one game. We were able to walk off the court knowing that we gave it all we had, and that's all you can ask from your team."
WHAT HAPPENED
- Ashland scored the game's first five points, but Walsh scored 13 of the next 15 points for a 13-7 advantage. The Cavaliers upped their lead to 22-13, and after the opening quarter came to an end, Walsh led 22-15 on the strength of 8-of-16 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
- After the Cavs went up 29-18, freshman forward Hayley Smith's straight-on 3-pointer stemmed the tide for the time being, but Walsh would go up 35-23 heading toward halftime. Another freshman triple, this one from guard Morgan Yoder, got the deficit back down to single figures, but by the break, the Cavaliers' lead had grown to 40-26.
- In the first 20 minutes, Walsh made 50 percent from the field and 4-of-7 from downtown, while the Eagles were kept to 38.5 percent from the field and turned the ball over eight times.
- Ashland scored the first four points of the second half, and an overall third-quarter-starting run of 8-3 cut the deficit to 43-34 – and forced a Walsh timeout. Trailing 49-39, the Eagles got the game to 51-45 in the final minute of the third, but trailed 55-47 heading into the fourth.
- Walsh scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to take a 16-point lead, forcing an Eagle stoppage as the Cavaliers had their largest lead of the contest. Ashland, however, had one furious rally left in it.
- The Eagles chopped their deficit down to 67-58 thanks to an 11-4 spurt, then to 69-62 in the final minute.
THE WRAP-UP
- Senior forward Karlee Pireu scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and finished her Eagle career with 1,648 career points.
- Junior forward Annie Roshak added 13 points.
- Ashland shot 43.9 percent from the field, while Walsh was 50.0 percent from the floor and 6-of-10 from downtown.
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