ASHLAND — The postseason. The playoffs. Conference tournaments, buzzer beaters, the one-and-dones, the Final Four, the madness that is March.
It’s all finally here and the crowd’s intensity at Kate’s Gymnasium showed it on Wednesday night.
For the Ashland University women’s basketball team, the new season started with a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament quarterfinal matchup at home against the Davenport University Panthers.
Ashland won 88-39.
The score was a result of the pace and pressure of the Eagles. Every opportunity to break was seized upon, led by Renee Stimpert, who had seven assists. But more importantly, Stimpert set the single-season assist record for Ashland.
“Credit to my teammates, they are knocking down shots when they’re open and even when they’re guarded,” said Stimpert, a Crestview graduate.
It was a night of records as Jodi Johnson reached 1,000 points, which no sophomore has ever done before.
“The starters are able to play their hearts out until they need a sub, and we know our sub is going to come in and do the exact same thing,” said Johnson.
That was the case for Sara Loomis, who played 14 minutes and contributed 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Another major factor to the lopsided affair, that was 41-19 at halftime, was the timely outside shots by made by Johnson, who went 2-of-2 from behind the arc, and Maddie Dackin, who was 3-of-4.
“As soon as the game starts, we know we are going to jump right on them and continue to pressure them,” Dackin said.
Coach Robyn Fralick was pleased with the result, but didn’t let the players think it was a perfect game.
“I think we can be sharper offensively, we talked a little bit about that after the game,” Fralick said.
With the Eagles’ 66th win in a row, Ashland will play Northwood on Saturday in the conference tournament semifinals at Kates Gymnasium, time TBA.
The tournament final will be Sunday, hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Looking Ahead
“Selection Sunday” for the seeding and the selection of the NCAA 64-team field happens March 4 at 10 p.m., and you can follow the process on NCAA.com.
When the regional rankings were released on Wednesday, the Eagles had the top seed in the Midwest Region, which if nothing changes, will have them playing host once again.
Regional start Friday, March 9, with the semifinal March 10 and the regional final on Monday, March 12.
The Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship game will take place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Sanford Pentagon, March 19, 21 and 23, respectively.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.
