Four months ago, Ashland University's women's basketball team won its third NCAA Division II national championship in Dallas, Texas, during its third undefeated season.
Before starting down the road of a potential national title repeat, the Eagle women will have the opportunity to go overseas on a trip to Italy – a trip which will feature two games on Friday (Aug. 4) and Sunday (Aug. 6).
"Any time you're able to provide an opportunity like this for your student-athletes, it's just remarkable," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens. "I'm so thankful that I work at a place where we get to take our team to Italy, and it's very little cost to them. Because many of them have never been out of the country, and some of them, I don't think, would ever go out of the country unless it was for a team-organized event."
In 2019, Ashland women's basketball went 3-0 in games played in Spain, while taking in the sights in both Spain and Portugal.
"For me, I'm really excited to try out some new things, see different lineups," Pickens said. "We have five new freshmen, six new faces on our roster. I'm most excited for that, to be able to try new things, explore a little bit."
Following a 2022-23 campaign in which the Eagles finished 37-0 and as national champions, they know they will have a target on their back in 2023-24, as they will start the season with the seventh-longest (tied) winning streak in D-II women's basketball history.
"Obviously, the national-championship experience as a whole was amazing for our team," said junior point guard
Morgan Yoder, "but now we have a whole new team to take to Italy, so I'm excited for the freshmen to come in and have a week to be together to sight-see, but also to play together and get a head start on our chemistry.
"It comes with being at a great program. Whether we win a national championship or not, Ashland always has the target on our back, because of the culture we've created."
"It's so cool," said junior forward
Zoe Miller. "I'm excited. It helps us, because, in the preseason, we're normally learning the stuff that we're learning now. We're such a motivated team, that we won't let anyone get in our way."
Yoder and Miller, former teammates at Berlin Hiland High School, are two of the Eagles who haven't been overseas.
"Super-excited to experience a different culture," Yoder said. "Definitely not looking forward to the flight over there."
"This is a new experience," Miller said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing all the new things, because I've never been out of the country before."
Over the last 12 seasons, Ashland has gone 359-39 (.902) with three NCAA Division II national titles, two national runner-up finishes, three undefeated seasons, a D-II-record 73-game winning streak, seven 30-win seasons, 11 NCAA postseason qualifications, eight conference regular-season championships, nine conference tournament titles, and a mark of 194-13 (.937) at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
