Ashland University's No. 15-ranked women's basketball team topped Walsh, 69-46, on Thursday (Jan. 9) night in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles' seventh straight win moved them to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the Great Midwest. The Cavaliers are 8-7, 3-4.
"It was not our best performance by any stretch," said Ashland head coach
Kari Pickens. "But I loved our finish, and I loved that we out-rebounded the team by 18, went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line in the second half.
"There were so many good things, but not our best game, and excited that we get to play another one on Saturday."
Ashland continues to be near the top of a tight conference race – Malone leading at 5-0 in the league, and AU, Hillsdale and Findlay all a game behind in the loss column.
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but neither team could find its offensive footing in the game's first 10 minutes. At the end of the opening quarter, Ashland led 17-9 thanks to a last-second 3-point field goal from senior guard
Morgan Yoder, but AU made 31.6 percent from the field and Walsh hit 21.4 percent.
Another triple, this one from freshman guard
Ashley Mullet, gave Ashland its largest lead to that point at 24-13. A layup from sophomore forward
Carly Prows gave the Eagles a 12-point advantage at 30-18, and by halftime, the lead was 36-25 following a buzzer-beating layup from senior forward
Zoe Miller.
A falling-down graduate guard
Lydia Sweeney's layup put Ashland on top by 15 points at 44-29, then senior forward
Sarah McKee forced Walsh to stop the game after her bucket extended the advantage to 46-29.
The Cavaliers, however, scored seven straight points to cut their deficit to 10 at 46-36. That run was stopped by another Mullet trey. Ashland went into the final quarter with a 53-40 lead.
Thanks to a 10-2 run punctuated by a 3 from sophomore guard
Gia Casalinova, the Eagles' largest lead to that point was 63-44 inside of the six-minute mark of the fourth. AU's first 20-plus-point edge came with 2:03 to go on two free throws from senior forward
Hayley Smith.
PLENTY OF EAGLE CAROMS…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- The Eagles out-rebounded Walsh 54-36 on Thursday night, marking their first 50-plus-carom game since 50 on Nov. 10, 2023 vs. Wayne State.
- Four AU players ended in double-digit scoring – Miller (15 points, seven rebounds), Mullet (13 points), Smith (12 points, 13 rebounds in 18 minutes), and Yoder (10 points).
- The Eagles ran 10 players out in regular rotation on Thursday, and Prows ended with two points and two rebounds in just five minutes.
- "Carly, I thought, did a good job when she stepped in there," Pickens noted. "Overall, I was really pleased with different people who stepped up."
- Walsh was kept to 29.0-percent shooting from the field and 2-of-19 from beyond the arc.
- Ashland has won 28 consecutive games in the month of January (last loss was Jan. 22, 2021).
UP NEXT
Saturday (Jan. 11) at 1 p.m. at Thomas More (6-8, 3-3) to begin a three-game stretch away from home.
