LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
THE TURNING POINT: Ashland led 10-6 in the early going, increased the advantage to 23-13 after the game's first 10 minutes and went on from there.
STAT OF THE GAME: Eagle senior forward Laina Snyder became the program's all-time leading rebounder and No. 2 all-time scorer on the same play in the second quarter.
Ashland University's women's basketball team finished its pre-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of the 2017-18 schedule at 6-0 following an 87-51 win over host St. Mary's (2-6) in the second and final day of the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas.
The top-ranked Eagles won their 43rd consecutive game on Saturday, moving alone into third place on the all-time NCAA Division II women's basketball list behind only Washburn (51, Jan. 26, 2005-March 11, 2006) and North Dakota State (49, Feb. 25, 1994-Dec. 15, 1995).
Inside of the seven-minute mark in the second quarter, on the same play, senior forward Laina Snyder became Ashland's all-time leading rebounder, and moved into second place on the Eagles' all-time scoring list. Snyder finished the night with 24 points and five rebounds, and has 939 career boards (passing Jackie Mason, 937, for first place) and 1,696 career points (passing Tammi Scott, 1,684, for second place).
In addition, Snyder and fellow senior forward Andi Daugherty became the top scoring classmate duo in program history on Saturday night. The two have combined for 3,234 points in their careers, passing Amber Rall and Catherine Portyrata (3,210).
Sophomore guard Jodi Johnson ended with 15 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three assists, Daugherty added 10 points and a team-high-tying four assists, and sophomore forward/guard Sara Loomis came off the bench for 10 points, six boards and two steals in 15 minutes.
In giving up a season-low 51 points, Ashland forced 24 turnovers and kept St. Mary's to 42.0-percent shooting from the field.
For the Rattlers, Arysia Porter and Audrey Wandji each scored a team-high 14 points.
Snyder scored 18 of her points in the first half, as Ashland took a 43-27 lead into the break. The Eagles extended their advantage to 24 points at 65-41 after three quarters en route to the victory.
Ashland's victory over the Rattlers gives it 40 in a row in the regular season, a school-record 22 in a row away from home and 19 in a row in regular-season games away from home.
UP NEXT: The start of GLIAC play on Thursday (Nov. 30) at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Superior State (0-4).
AU
WBKB/DS