No. 8 AU Women Rally Again, Defeat Dragons On The Road

Prior to Thursday (Feb. 13) night, the No. 8-ranked Ashland University women's basketball team hadn't rallied for a win after trailing in the third quarter in 2024-25.
 
After Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon, the Eagles are well-versed at it – thanks in large part to senior forward Zoe Miller.
 
Miller scored a career-high 33 points and added 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals in AU's 69-63 win at Tiffin on Saturday – the Eagles' second fourth-quarter comeback in three days. Ashland rallied from a 49-35 deficit with less than 14 minutes to play to improve to 24-3 overall and 16-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and win for the 18^th straight time.
 
Saturday's victory, coupled with Malone not playing and Hillsdale losing, gives the Eagles a 2½-game lead over the Pioneers and a three-game advantage over the Chargers with three regular-season games to play.
 
An early 7-2 Eagle lead turned into a 17-9 Dragons (8-17, 3-14) advantage, as Ashland missed 10 of its first 13 shots from the field. The end of the first quarter saw Miller single-handedly keeping AU in the game, as her 12 points allowed for just a two-point deficit, 19-17, going into the second.
 
Tiffin scored the first 10 points of the new period, going ahead 29-17. It was at that point, however, that the Eagles began to rally, behind both Miller and freshman guard Corri Vermilya. Vermilya and Miller each had five points during a 10-0 run to pull AU to within two points at 29-27, but at the break, an 8-2 Dragons spurt left the Eagles trailing 37-29.
 
Ashland trailed 49-35 inside of the four-minute mark the third quarter, but a late-period surge cut the deficit to down to six at 51-45.
 
Miller's layup, career-high points No. 26 and 27, pulled the Eagles to within three points at 54-51 with less than eight minutes left in regulation. Freshman point guard Ashley Mullet hit back-to-back triples to put Ashland ahead at 63-61 – a lead the Eagles wouldn't relinquish.
 
MCKEE STANDS OUT OFF THE BENCH…AND THE REST OF THE STORY

• Another senior forward, Sarah McKee, came off the bench to post 13 points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 23 minutes.
• Miller's career game leaves her with 1,287 career points, moving her into 16^th place on the Eagles' all-time scoring list. Her 33 points on Saturday were the most in a game for an Eagle since Annie Roshak's 40 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament game vs. Parkside on March 5, 2021.
• With 10 boards, senior forward Hayley Smith has 931 in her career, moving into third place on AU's all-time list.
• The Eagles made 14-of-17 free throws (82.4 percent) in the victory.
• Ashland has won 17 straight times vs. Tiffin.

UP NEXT
Ashland will return to the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 20) at 5:30 p.m. to take on Cedarville (11-13, 7-9).