ASHLAND — One game at a time.
That’s what the Ashland University women’s basketball team tells itself, but the Eagles have to know they’re only seven games away from winning it all — for the second year in a row.
Tuesday night’s victorious matchup in Kate’s Gymnasium against the Findlay Oilers got them one step closer, rolling to the first Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament game with a 66-44 victory.
“All we gotta do is win the next one,” said head coach Kari Pickens, acknowledging the mounting pressure to win it all. “That is genuinely our mentality right now.”
The Eagles face Thomas More in the GMAC semifinals on Friday at Kates Gymnasium for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.
Pickens said her team responded Tuesday after a “lax” defensive performance against the Oilers on March 2.
“We responded with physicality a lot better today — that was the biggest defensive change,” she said.
The Eagles forced 16 turnovers and had 11 steals, converting those into 14 points.
An explosive 1st quarter
But it was the the Eagles Depthy that stood out, accounting for 24 points off the bench.
AU took control from the start, rolling to a 26-8 first-quarter lead.
A leaky ceiling at Kates stopped the game for a few minutes, but that didn’t slow the drip from the outside. The Lady Eagles hit six threes in the first quarter and hit 10 of their 16 attempts from within the arc.
The Eagles stretched their lead to more than double at the half, shooting 45% from beyond the arc.
Standout performance from Spielman
Macy Spielman drained 3-of-4 of four attempts and leading her team in points scored at the half.
The Oilers kept digging and shortened the gap some in the third quarter, ending it with a 54-26 tally.
Ultimately, the Oilers managed just 32% from the field (on 50 attempts), not nearly good enough.
Spielman kept her streak going with back-to-back treys to start the third quarter. With four from downtown, it was a career night for her.
A tweaked ankle placed her on the bench, ending her streak — and her play for the rest of the game.
Pickens said she hated to see Spielman go down like that.
“But right now all we want her to do is be healthy so we can put together something special,” Pickens said.
Spielman hopes that “something special” is Friday night. When asked if she’s ready to play, she said, enthusiastically: “Heck yeah.”
Annie Roshak added 11 points Tuesday to her all-time leading scorer legacy. She said she was proud of the team for rallying behind Spielman for a win.
“I’ve always said the strength of the team is the team … This is a good first step into what he hope is a really good March,” she said.
The Eagles head into Friday’s campaign against Thomas More with a 28-1 record.
One game at a time.