No. 10 AU Women Take Over First Place In Great Midwest After Win At Pioneers

For the first time in 2024-25, the Ashland University women's basketball team is atop the Great Midwest Athletic Conference standings.
 
On Thursday (Feb. 6) night at Malone, the No. 10-ranked Eagles topped the No. RV Pioneers, 58-47, to reside in first place the league. Ashland is 21-3 overall and 13-1 in the Great Midwest after its 15^th straight victory, and Malone is 18-3, 12-1 after its 13-game win streak was snapped.
 
Ashland earned its 13^th consecutive decision against Malone overall in a match-up of the only two teams to have clinched a spot in the 2025 Great Midwest Tournament coming into the night.
 
The Eagles scored the game's first nine points, keeping the Pioneers off the board for more than five minutes to start the contest. At the end of the opening quarter, Ashland's lead was 14-7 – as it kept Malone to 3-of-12 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and forced six turnovers.
 
Repeating the start of the first quarter, the Eagles posted the initial six points of the second stanza to go up 20-7. By halftime, Ashland's advantage was 17 points at 32-15, and both ends the floor were clicking – 50.0-percent shooting from the field, and allowing 23.1 percent on the other end.
 
At the half, senior forward Zoe Miller was halfway to a double-double (10 points, six rebounds), helping the Eagles to a decided 21-10 edge on the boards in the game's first 20 minutes.
 
Another senior forward, Hayley Smith, scored Ashland's first seven points of the second half, lifting the Eagles to a 39-18 lead. Holding serve throughout the third, AU went into the final stanza up 46-28.
 
KEEPING ON KEEPING OPPONENTS DOWN…AND THE REST OF THE STORY

• For the 15^th time this season, Ashland kept its opponent to fewer than 50 points. The Eagles allowed Malone to make 30.8 percent from the field on Thursday night.
• Miller had a team-high 14 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and a block, and with 1,233 career points, moves into 19^th place on Ashland's all-time scoring list.
• Smith ended with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She became the fifth player in program history to grab 900 career rebounds, and with 1,258 career points, is tied for 16^th on the program's all-time list.
• Sophomore guard Lexi Howe added a dozen points in the victory.
• The Eagles doubled up the Pioneers on the boards (38-19), and made 50.0 percent from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
• Ashland improves to 325 games above .500 (348-23) as a ranked team in NCAA Division II.

UP NEXT
Saturday (Feb. 8) at 5:30 p.m. at Cedarville.