LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
Ashland University's women's basketball team continued to roll on Saturday (Dec. 9) afternoon at Kates Gymnasium, taking a 96-50 decision from Davenport in the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
The Eagles, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division leaders, improve to 10-0 overall and 4-0 in the league following their 47th consecutive victory.
"I loved our start. I liked our energy from the beginning," said Ashland head coach Robyn Fralick, who now has won 78 of her first 80 games (.975) as a head coach. "I thought we did a great job of setting the tone early in the game."
The Panthers are 2-7, 1-3.
Ashland was more than sound once again at both ends of the floor, hitting 48.8 percent from the floor with 31 assists, and forcing 27 turnovers and keeping Davenport to 33.9-shooting from the field. The Eagles also had 52 rebounds, the second time in three days they collected at least 50 caroms.
TEN TAKEAWAYS
1. Davenport scored the game's first basket. After that, Ashland scored the game's next 10 points, and led 26-10 after the first 10 minutes. The Eagle women's basketball fans have been dubbed the "Purple Swarm," and that moniker would apply to the AU defense, which forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter.
2. At halftime, the Eagles led 55-21. The defense continued to shine by keeping the Panthers to 28.1-percent shooting from the field and forcing 18 turnovers in the first two periods, but the passing was near flawless (11 assists on 12 made field goals).
3. Ashland entered the game as the top team in the country in both assists per game (23.3) and turnovers forced per contest (28.33) – improving on the former and nearly equaling the latter on Saturday afternoon.
4. For the fifth straight game, senior forward Laina Snyder scored at least 20 points, going for 21 to go with 11 rebounds (her 40th career double-double), four assists and three steals – in just 24 minutes on the floor. "I don't really do anything special," Snyder said. "We get a lot of fast, easy baskets because we run hard."
5. Sophomore guard Jodi Johnson, two days after posting 18 points, six rebounds, seven assists and six steals, collected 21 points, eight boards, eight steals and four assists against the Panthers – and did all that in just 24 minutes. "That's our main focus every game," Johnson said of energy from her and her teammates. "That's something you can control. That's what leads us to runs throughout the game."
6. Yet another sophomore guard, Renee Stimpert, shattered her career high in assists with 12 – in just 21 minutes of action. "I like to push the pace, and people were open," said Stimpert, who is averaging 6.5 assists per game this season. "People were knocking down shots."
7. Senior forward Andi Daugherty went for 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, while adding five rebounds, three helpers and two thefts.
8. Sophomore guard/forward Sara Loomis led the charge off the bench with a dozen points, six rebounds and two blocks.
9. Junior guard Maddie Dackin rounded out the five Eagles in double-digit scoring with 11 points.
10. In addition to the overall win streak, Ashland upped other win streaks to a school-record 44 in the regular season at home, 44 in the regular season overall, a school-record 32 in the GLIAC regular-season at home, 30 in the GLIAC regular season overall and 25 at home overall.
UP NEXT
Saturday, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. at Tiffin (3-6, 1-3).
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