ASHLAND — “Ohio against the world.” Specifically, Ashland, Ohio, against the seven remaining Division II women’s basketball teams fighting to dethrone last year’s champs.
It’s never easy to repeat a national championship, but the Eagles are primed for another run with the Elite 8 starting Monday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at 7 p.m.
“We want to climb the same mountain but take a different path. And we’re on our new path and we’ve put ourselves in position to reach a goal,” said Ashland coach Robyn Fralick. “It would be hard not to be focused and locked in when you play in the Elite 8.”
Mountaineering analogy? Now they are speaking my language. It’s called a first ascent, when you navigate a new, harder route up to the summit. Ashland is definitely pioneering, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay-style, a new route to the championship.
There’s the unprecedented 71-game win streak, the best in Division II basketball, regardless of gender.
Ashland is the first Division II team to average over 100 points per game for an entire season, with 100.3.
The Eagles only need 72 more points to break UConn’s total of 3,481 for the record of most points scored in a women’s basketball season.
And those are just some of the team’s stats — not to mention the individual accomplishments. But focus, fun and finishing are still the main focal points.
“We’re just ready. We’ve been here before and we know what it feels like,” said sophomore Jodi Johnson, who was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year. “We’re really going to keep improving this week to win this next game and keep it rolling. It’s excitement. Obviously we want to get playing.”
Johnson also lead the nation in steals, averaging 3.8 a game. She listens to the “Pitch Perfect” soundtrack with the team to get pumped up for games.
With everyone on the Eagles’ roster from Ohio (except for Sarah Hart, who when Fralick was asked if Hart was an adopted Ohioan, Fralick said, “Yes, she is!”), the game is more than two universities playing, but the cities and states as well.
“It obviously means a lot,” said sophomore Renee Stimpert, a Crestview graduate said. “I wanted to stay around here, I’m really close with my family, I see a lot of the Crestview community in the stands during the games and, when I was a little girl, I watched my sister play here for two years and it was a dream of mine.
“I set that goal and wanted to reach that goal. That’s something for this community, not may little kids can see themselves at a program like this.”
Fralick said it’s like a trademark that nearly every player is from Ohio.
“I think we are taking the city of Ashland with us. We have real pride in the university and the city here and we feel really connected — they are a big part of why we are able to do what we’ve been able to do,” Fralick said. “We’ll take the ‘purple swarm’ with us there in pride.”
Even in a supportive community such as Ashland, there are still “haters” that have doubted one of their own.
“I’ve heard that lately, that people didn’t think I could make it at this program. It just something I heard, and it kinda motivated me,” Stimpert said.” I kinda had a lot of people against me, so I wanted to prove them wrong and show that little kids in this area can do big things.”
Stimpert set the single-season assist record for Ashland this year.
The Matchup
There was little doubt in the tournament seeding committee’s minds that Ashland is the No. 1 overall seed. As a result, the Eagles will take on No. 8 seed Montana State University Billings (MSUB), who knocked off Alaska Anchorage by one point in the Sweet 16.
MSUB is led by the West Regional Most Valuable Player, senior guard Rylee Kane, who drained two clutch free throws with 9.3 seconds to go to seal the win against Alaska.
The matchup of Kane vs Stimpert is a March Madness dream.
The Eagles feature standout senior Laina Snyder, who broke Ashland’s career point total of 2,087, along with 1,000 rebounds.
There’s also the added Eagles backcourt and outside shooting of Maddie Dackin, Brooke Smith and Andi “ice veins” Daughtery, who made four foul shots in a row to help the Eagles defeat Drury in the Sweet 16 game last Monday at Kates Gymnasium.
But it would be foolish to overlook MSUB and all-regional tournament selection Alisha Breen, who plays stellar defense, as illustrated when she blocked a would-be tying shot by Alaska’s Hannah Wandersee on the final play of the game.
“No one coincidentally makes the Elite 8. Every team there is doing something really well, and that’s what makes it fun, that’s what makes it special to get there,” Fralick said. “It’s really hard to get there. They are doing what they do well. We’ve got to be ready for it and we’ve got to be prepared for what we do well. We need to use this week to make sure we are really sharp with who we are.
“We have to go into this game thinking, they are another Drury or a top team in the nation. Every team is playing good so it doesn’t matter what they’re record is.”
Last year the Elite Eight was played in Columbus, and AU fans made it nearly a home experience.
“Now, different atmosphere, different arena, but we just have to go in and get the job done,” Stimpert said. “It’s all on the line on Monday, and Ashland Source will be there live for the journey.”
Next week, check out our Facebook live videos, tweets and stories that will have you sitting next to the team on the bench.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.
