No. 7 AU Women Defeat No. 14 Ferris State To End Michigan Trip

Payback can be a very key factor in sports.
 
In 2023-24, Ashland University's women's basketball team's only two losses came at the hands of Ferris State. On Saturday (Nov. 23) afternoon in Big Rapids, Mich., the No. 7-ranked Eagles (5-2) turned the tables and topped the No. 14-ranked Bulldogs (5-2), 69-59.
 
Sophomore guard Gia Casalinova scored a career-high 11 points – in the first quarter – to help the Eagles to a 19-15 lead through the game's first 10 minutes. Casalinova was 4-for-4 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and hit a free throw in the opening stanza.
 
Ashland scored the first 14 points of the second quarter, leading to a 38-19 halftime advantage. In the first 20 minutes, Casalinova had 15 points, and senior forward Zoe Miller posted 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, while the Eagles assisted on all 14 field goals and kept the Bulldogs to 26.9 percent from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point range.
 
The Eagles outscored FSU 38-18 in the middle two quarters en route to victory – despite the Bulldogs outscoring AU 26-12 in the final period.
 
MILLER CLOSE TO 1,000 AGAIN…AND THE REST OF THE STORY

• Casalinova led Ashland with 19 points, while Miller added 17 – and she now is a point away from scoring 1,000 as an Eagle. She has more than 1,000 between her time at Bowling Green and Ashland combined.
• Senior forward Hayley Smith finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and with 1,054 career points, moves into 26^th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
• Ashland dished out 23 assists on 24 made field goals, and on defense, kept Ferris State to 33.3 percent from the field.

UP NEXT
One last pre-Thanksgiving game at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium on Tuesday (Nov. 26) at 5:30 p.m. vs. No. 11 Union.