COLUMBUS – The defending Division II National Champion Ashland University Eagles went into Ohio State’s Value City Arena Sunday afternoon and received a not-so-warm welcome from the preseason Big Ten favorites.
The Buckeyes beat Ashland University 110-80 in the first of two exhibition games the Eagles will play against Division I powerhouses.
The Buckeyes were selected as the preseason Big Ten women’s basketball favorite by the conference’s 14 head coaches and OSU’s Kelsey Mitchell was tabbed as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. Fellow senior Stephanie Mavunga joined Mitchell in earning Preseason All-Big Ten honors. On Sunday afternoon, the team and both players lived up to those expectations.
Mavunga led the way for OSU with 28 points and 23 boards and Mitchell also chipped in with 28 points, 3 boards and 5 assists.
“They’re excellent. They’re two of the best players in the country for a reason,” Ashland head coach Robyn Fralick said of the Buckeye duo.
Three other Buckeyes reached double digits – Linnae Harper with 17, Asia Doss with 16 and Sierra Calhoun with 15
“We had some really good spurts where we would put together a few good possessions of getting a good score in transition, then a stop, then a score,” said Fralick. “During those times, I would see some good hustle plays, some good plays running down the long rebound. So we’ll take that.”
Sophomore Jodi Johnson scored the first two points of the game. Ohio State answered with a 7-2 spurt including five points by Mitchell to take control of the game.
The Buckeyes opened up a 27-17 lead late in the first quarter before Julie Worley scored five straight points to trim Ohio State’s lead to 27-22. That was as close as the Eagles would get again as the Buckeyes would close the first half with a 58-41 advantage.
After AU cut the lead to 60-45 in the opening minutes of the third quarter, Ohio State went on a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach for the Eagles.
Snyder paced the Eagles with 21 points, nine rebounds and three steal. Fellow senior Julie Worley chipped in 16 points and four rebounds. Three Eagles – Maddie Dackin, Jodi Johnson and Sara Loomis — added 9 points apiece.
“We’re becoming a new team, and we’ve got everyone figuring out who they are in that. The good news is too, when you leave a game like this, you’re not wondering what you need to work on,” Fralick said. “The biggest thing we talked about after the game is we are growing as a team but we have to become invested in that growth. Everyone’s in a new role, a new situation, a new year, and the things we can control we have to control better.”
The Buckeyes outshot AU 51.8 percent to 37.1 percent and outrebounded them 56-46, including 17 offensive rebounds.
AU played without All-American Andi Daugherty who sat with a foot injury and freshman Maddie Blyer who was nursing a back injury.
Ashland finishes its exhibition season on Nov. 5 on the road against Division I powerhouse Connecticut before beginning their national title defense on Nov. 10 against Ohio Dominican.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.
