No. 1 Eagle Women Top Greyhounds At Home To Start New Season At 2-0

In its second game in as many days at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the No. 1-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team defeated in-region rival Indianapolis, 97-71, on Saturday (Nov. 11) night.
 
The Eagles are 2-0 on the young season, and have won 39 games overall – tied with Lubbock Christian for the sixth-longest in NCAA Division II women's basketball history (Ashland has the record with 73 straight victories). The Greyhounds are 0-2.
 
"I'm really excited about our team," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens, whose .906 winning percentage (144-15) is the second-best in NCAA women's basketball history at all levels, only behind Thomas More's Jeff Hans (.916). "We're not perfect by any means just yet, a lot of things we need to improve on. But against two quality D-II opponents, we've seen some really good things."
 
In its last 400 games, Ashland has won 361 of them (.903).
 
The first quarter saw the Eagles put up a 30-spot en route to a 19-point lead going into the second quarter. Ashland had nine assists on 11 made baskets, out-rebounded the Greyhounds 17-8, and turned the ball over just twice.
 
Ashland's second quarter was more uneven than the first, thanks mostly to 10 turnovers. The Eagle lead at halftime, however, still was 20 points at 48-28 – and 20 points was what AU scored on 10 UIndy miscues.
 
Also in that first half, fifth-year forward Annie Roshak scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and junior forward Hayley Smith had eight caroms, as the Eagles out-rebounded the Greyhounds, 29-15.
 
Indy got its deficit down to 50-35 early in the second half, then to 53-38, then to 56-43 – before junior forward Zoe Miller scored eight points in a row to get the Eagle lead back to 21. By the end of the third quarter, Ashland had a 69-54 advantage.
  
POST-GAME NUGGETS

• All three of Ashland's main forwards – Roshak (25 points, 12 rebounds), Miller (21 points, five rebounds) and Smith (12 points, 11 rebounds – combined for 58 points and 28 boards.
• "Annie, Hayley, Zoe have been a force, scoring and rebounding," Pickens said. "I was really proud of the way they responded. They finished strong around the rim, they boarded really hard. They're a tough group to stop, for sure."
• Freshman guard Lexi Howe filled up the stat sheet in just 17 minutes off the bench – eight points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• "Truly remarkable the way she impacts both sides of the court," said Pickens. "In a variety of ways, she's going to be a special player for us."
• Ashland finished with 25 assists on 33 made field goals, and a 49-35 rebounding advantage.
• The Eagles are 116-3 all-time as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, and 298-18 all-time as a ranked squad.
• Ashland has won seven straight in the series.

 
UP NEXT
The start of a three-game Michigan road stretch on Friday (Nov. 17) at 6 p.m. at Saginaw Valley State.