It had been a while since the No. 1-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team had played away from home – but the Eagles didn't forget how to do it.
Ashland's first road game since Jan. 13 resulted in a 92-45 win at Lake Erie on Saturday (Feb. 3) afternoon – extending the Eagles' NCAA Division II-record road winning streak to 36 games.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference-leading Eagles are 19-1 overall and 12-0 in the league, and the Storm are 1-18, 0-13.
Saturday's victory gave Ashland 11 wins in a row, and 56 in its last 57 contests. The Eagles have won 41 straight games in Great Midwest play, tournaments included.
Ashland's team effort against the Storm included …
- 13 of 15 players scoring.
- 12 of 15 players getting at least one rebound.
- 13 of 15 players earning at least one assist.
- and no one playing more than 18 minutes.
The first quarter was not a standout one for either team offensively, but thanks to eight points from fifth-year forward
Annie Roshak and a late surge, the Eagles took an 18-8 lead into the second stanza. Lake Erie turned the ball over nine times in the first 10 minutes.
By halftime, Ashland's advantage had grown to 43-21, as in the second period, the Eagles made 9-of-17 from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range and all three free throws. Defensively, AU forced 14 first-half turnovers – which kept the Storm to just 21 shots from the floor.
Leading 43-23 early in the third quarter, the Eagles extended their advantage to 65-33 through the quarter, and they went on to victory from there.
POST-GAME NUGGETS
- Roshak finished with 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field in just 18 minutes on the floor, and with 2,174 career points, is just eight away from passing Jodi Johnson (2,181) for second place on Ashland's all-time scoring list.
- Junior forward Zoe Miller added 15 points in 16 minutes, as well as a team-high eight rebounds.
- Ashland made 50 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
- Defensively, the Eagles turned Lake Erie over 28 times, and kept the Storm to 39.1 percent from the floor – the sixth consecutive opponent which has shot worse than 40 percent against AU.
- Ashland moves to 126-4 as the No. 1 team in the nation, and 315-19 as a ranked team in D-II.
UP NEXT
The Eagles return to the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 8) at 5:30 p.m. to take on Ursuline (16-5, 9-4).
