FOUR-PEAT REDUX! No. 5 AU Women Win Fourth Straight Great Midwest Tourney Titles

Ashland University's No. 5-ranked women's basketball team won its fourth consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament title on Saturday (March 8) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
 
And in the 69-57 win over Hillsdale on Saturday, it was new heroes who led the way.
 
The Eagles are 30-3 going into the 2025 NCAA Division II postseason, have won 24 games in a row, and have been on the winning end in 30 straight home contests (won 52 of the last 53 at "The Kates").
 
Ashland now has won nine of the last 10 conference tournaments over the last decade, and the Eagles are 29-1 in their last 30 conference tourney games.
 
"It doesn't get old," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens. "I actually talked to the team quite a bit before the game about the tradition of the program. It's really easy for people to think it just happens here. But it doesn't just happen. There's a lot of work that goes into it.
 
"It's really hard to win championships, and this team has done it with their own unique touch. I love the way we are playing."
 
The Chargers (21-9) came out firing – and making – and scored the game's first eight points. Ashland worked it back to a 10-9 deficit at the game's first media timeout, then took a 13-10 lead out of it to end a 13-2 run.
 
When the dust settled after the opening quarter, the Eagles' lead was a single point at 17-16. AU made eight field goals in the first, and six were assisted.
 
As it did in the first stanza, Hillsdale scored the first eight points of the second to go back on top at 24-17, and then the Chargers made it 10 points in a row for a 26-17 advantage. Hillsdale led by 10 at 34-24 late in the first half, and by halftime, senior forward Zoe Miller's banked 3-point field goal at the buzzer left the AU deficit at 34-27.
 
Consecutive triples from senior guard Morgan Yoder and Mullet (at the shot clock buzzer) got Ashland back to a three-point deficit at 36-33 early in the second half, then two free throws from McKee made it a one-point contest.
 
McKee's layup put the Eagles on top for the first time since halfway through the second quarter at 37-36 – forcing Hillsdale to stop the game. She later made another layup to get the Eagles back to down a point at 42-41.
 
Yoder's wing triple knotted the game at 44, sophomore guard Lexi Howe's trey put AU up 49-46, and by the end of the third period, the Eagles' lead was razor thin at 49-48.
 
Back-and-forth the two teams went in the fourth, and when Mullet made both charity tosses at the 5:17 mark, the game was tied for a fourth time at 55. At 4:31, another Howe three put Ashland ahead at 58-55.
 
Leading 59-57 going into the final two minutes of regulation, senior forward Hayley Smith's layup doubled the advantage to four points. An Eagle defensive stop, and then another, gave Ashland the ball back with 47.5 ticks to go.
 
Mullet made two more free throws give AU a 63-57 lead with 39.7 seconds left, and a Charger turnover on a travel effectively ended the contest.
 
"This team has been so battle-tested," Pickens said. "When we get down, I don't think anyone is ever worried. We'll slowly start to chip away, and that was exactly what happened again today."
 
THE BENCH WAS THE DIFFERENCE…AND THE REST OF THE STORY

• The Eagles' bench outscored the Chargers' reserves, 30-6. Mullet (16 points, 8-of-8 from the line) and McKee (6-of-6 from the field) had all 30.
• Said Mullet, "It feels great. I have all the confidence in the world from my coaches and teammates. It's just been fun this whole year. It means a lot. That fight, we've grown a lot this whole year. We know we can dig out of those holes."
• Added Pickens, "She's a freshman, and she stepped up to the line with confidence, knocked them all down and helped us secure the win."
• "We knew what we wanted to do coming in. We wanted to be G-MAC champions," McKee said. "We get down in the first half, but we know that we can come together as a team and grit out a win together."
• "I was so proud of her," said Pickens. "She played confidently on both ends, she rebounded. Sarah McKee has been someone that has put in the work. She is an absolute special, special player who makes our team really great."
• Howe ended with 11 points, and Smith had 10.
• The Eagles made 13-of-15 from the foul line (86.7 percent) in the one of the top marks of the season.
• AU kept Hillsdale to 36.7 percent from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
• Ashland has won at least 30 games in three straight seasons, and nine times since 2011-12.

UP NEXT
The 2025 D-II selection show on Sunday (March 9) at 10:30 p.m. at NCAA.com..