Top-Ranked AU Women Beat Arrows For Season Win No. 20

On Thursday (Feb. 8) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the No. 1-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team topped Ursuline, 85-64, to improve to 20-1 overall and 13-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
"I thought it was a really good win," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens. "I was pleased with our team's effort on both ends of the court. Defensively, I thought that was one of our better games."
 
In the process, the Eagles earned yet another 20-win season – their 14^th in the last 21 seasons.
 
Thanks to a 5-for-7 start from the field, the Eagles led 11-7 at the first-quarter media timeout. Ursuline (16-6, 9-5) would tie the game at 11-all, then again at 14-all, and again at 16-all – which is where the first period ended.
 
The Arrows took the lead at 19-16 to begin the second stanza, but the Eagles took the lead back at 22-21. Thanks to a layup from junior forward Zoe Miller, making her first start of 2023-24, Ashland went up 32-24 – forcing an Ursuline stoppage.
 
By the break, the Eagle advantage – after an 11-0 run late – was 44-30. Three Ashland players had 10 or more points through the first 20 minutes – Miller (12), freshman guard Lexi Howe (11), and fifth-year forward Annie Roshak (10).
 
Roshak moved into second place on AU's all-time scoring list in the first half.
 
The Eagles scored 14 points off seven Arrow turnovers in the first two quarters.
 
Ashland had a lead of 26 points during the third quarter (62-36), and went on to win from there.
 
POST-GAME NUGGETS

• Miller finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, and hit 9-of-13 from the field.
• "No matter what, starting or coming off the bench, I'm willing to do whatever my team needs," she said. "I just work hard and try my best."
• Said Pickens, "Zoe works tremendously hard out there. Those points don't just happen by accident."
• Roshak (19), Howe (14) and junior forward Hayley Smith (12 points, nine rebounds, 5-of-6 from the field) joined Miller in double-digit scoring. With 2,193 career points, Roshak only trails Laina Snyder (2,295) on the program's all-time scoring list.
• The Eagles dished out 24 assists on 31 made field goals, and hit 8-of-16 from the field.
• Defensively, AU kept Ursuline to 38.3 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range. It is the seventh straight time the Eagles have kept a team to less than 40 percent from the floor.
• "We set a goal about seven games ago that we wanted to hold teams to under 40 percent," Pickens noted. "The team has responded tremendously. I'm very proud of them."
• Sixteen Arrow turnovers resulted in 25 Eagle points.
• Thursday's victory was Ashland's 12^th in a row, its 57^th in the last 58 games, and 42^nd in a row in league play, including tournaments.
• The Eagles improve to 127-4 all-time as the No. 1 team in the country, and 316-19 as a ranked team in NCAA Division II.

 
UP NEXT
Another Great Midwest home game vs. Ohio Dominican (6-16, 3-11) on Saturday (Feb. 10) at 1 p.m.