COLUMBUS – In the biggest game of the season so far for the Ashland University women’s basketball team, its two most-acclaimed players rose to the occasion.

Laina Snyder scored 26 points and Andi Daugherty added 24 as the Eagles (35-0) topped West Texas A&M 82-67 Tuesday night in Alumni Hall at Ohio Dominican University during the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

“What an unbelievable game — an absolutely championship atmosphere,” Ashland coach Robyn Fralick said. “I thought our team played really hard. We made some mistakes. We gave up too many offensive rebounds but our effort was excellent.

“The two sitting next to me (Snyder and Daugherty) were unbelievable and they both made a lot of winning plays.”

Although the game was technically played on a neutral court, more than 1,000 Ashland fans made the 80-mile trip down I-71 from Ashland to Columbus to cheer on the Eagles.

“Our support has been unbelievable all season. I feel like there’s such a reciprocation. I feel like our team is very life-giving to our community and the community is so life-giving to our team. And I don’t mean just with basketball. I mean with life and all the things that surround that,” Fralick said.

The Buffaloes opened the game with a 9-4 run in the first 3:10 of the game. Baskets by Snyder and Daugherty cut it to a one-point lead before the media timeout. The Eagles then outscored Texas A&M 14-2 to end the first quarter with a 23-11 margin. AU turned nine first-quarter turnovers into 11 of their 23 points.

The Buffaloes scored the first six points of the second stanza to cut the lead to six, but Ashland countered and was able to hold off West Texas A&M, taking a 41-32 advantage into halftime.

West Texas A&M cut the deficit to 49-47 with 6:01 left in the third after three straight treys by senior Allie Decker. Layups by Snyder and Renee Stimpert extended the lead back to six points at 53-47. AU closed the third on a 17-6 run to lead 64-53 going into the final stanza.

In the fourth quarter, Daugherty added nine points and hit 7-of-8 free throws to help seal the win for Ashland, who moves on to Wednesday night’s Final Four.

“The fourth quarter down the stretch with the game on the line, the free throw line is where I’m very comfortable,” Daugherty said.

The Buffaloes had 6-foot-2 Maddison Wild and 6-foot-4 Lilley Vander Zee guarding the smaller Snyder and Daugherty, but the Eagles were able to use that to their advantage.

“I think Laina and I are both undersized post players a little bit,” Daugherty said. “We’re versatile enough, we kind of have guard skills, so we used our speed and athleticism to expose the holes in their defense and put up some shots.”

Snyder was able to find the open spaces in the Buffaloes’ zone defense, hitting a number of open jumpers from the free-throw line area.

“Use what you have to your advantage. We had speed, they had size, and we were able to out-work them in that area,” Snyder said.

For the game, the Eagle defense forced 25 turnovers which they turned into 32 points.

Snyder moved into third place on the all-time scoring list for AU with her 26 points, giving her 1,528 for her career. She also grabbed eight rebounds, dished four assists and swiped three steals.

“That just comes with being on a great team for three years,” Snyder said. “We haven’t made it this far in the past but we’ve had some great seasons and I have had some great teammates. It’s awesome to be able to do that for this team.”

Freshman Stimpert added a career-high 11 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench. Senior Kelsey Peare hit both 3-pointers she attempted to improve her Division II leading 3-point percentage and also knocked down two free throws to total eight points.

Lilley Vander Zee and Decker topped the Buffaloes with 18 points apiece.

Ashland will take on Harding (31-3), a 73-69 winner Tuesday night against Queens.

“We’re really thankful for this opportunity. We’re thankful that we get to play again,” Fralick said.

Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University and dozens of high schools and universities throughout Ohio.