LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE
Ashland University's women's basketball team has accomplished a lot in recent seasons.
The No. 10-ranked Eagles reached another milestone on Saturday (Feb. 23) afternoon in their 99-84 win at Saginaw Valley State. With the victory, Ashland improves to 25-2 overall and 17-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and for the first time in program history, has won at least 25 games in five consecutive seasons.
Ashland's 99 points are its most since Jan. 12 at Purdue Northwest (112).
THE TOP TEN
1. Junior guard/forward Jodi Johnson polished off an impressive weekend by posting 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and making 10-of-14 from the field. Johnson moves closer to becoming the fifth player in program history to reach 1,600 career points, now boasting 1,596 in her Eagle career, and in the last two games, has 42 points, 21 boards and 11 helpers.
2. Another Eagle with back-to-back strong games in the last regular-season road trip of 2018-19 is junior forward Sara Loomis, who, on Saturday, went for 20 points and nine rebounds, and was 8-of-12 from the floor. At Northwood and SVSU this week, Loomis scored 37 points and pulled down 18 rebounds.
3. All five AU starters, and six Eagles overall, scored in double figures on Saturday. Senior guard Maddie Dackin had 12 points, sophomore forward Karlee Pireu chipped in with 11, and junior guard Renee Stimpert ended with a double-double at 10 points and 10 assists.
4. Off the bench, junior guard/forward Sarah Hart scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
5. The Eagles shot 58.2 percent from the field, their best showing from the field since Jan. 10 at Parkside (61.4). Stimpert had nearly half of Ashland's 21 assists, and AU had a decided 43-29 rebounding advantage.
6. An early 8-6 lead turned into a 31-20 Ashland advantage through 10 minutes of play. Nine of the Eagles' 13 field goals in the first quarter were assisted, as they shot 61.9 percent from the floor.
7. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 33-26 early in the second quarter, and a high-scoring 20 minutes ended with a 55-45 Ashland advantage. The Eagles' scorching first-half shooting continued, as their field-goal percentage increased to 65.7.
8. Saginaw Valley State worked the game to a one-point deficit at 63-62 halfway through the third quarter, but didn't take a lead. Ashland's lead, however, was just 73-70 going into the final period.
9. It was an 80-75 Eagle lead with 6:18 to go, but Ashland outscored SVSU 19-9 the rest of the way to seal the victory.
10. SVSU (6-20, 6-13) was paced by Aaliah Hill with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Hannah Settingsgaard with 16 points. The Cardinals shot 46.6 percent from the field and made just 9-of-30 from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
The final 2018-19 regular-season game on Senior Day, Thursday (Feb. 28) at 5:30 p.m. vs. Wayne State.
AU
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