The Eagles Online -- Ashland University Athletics

Poor Second Half Dooms AU Women
February 22, 2003

Basketball players are measured for quickness and vertical jump. Coaches love to see how fast a player can race from Point A to Point B.

A basketball game, however, is not a sprint. It’s more like a marathon.

The Ashland University women’s basketball team hit the wall in the second half Saturday (Feb. 22) at Gannon’s Hammermill Center. Winning by two points, 32-30 at halftime, AU was outscored, 48-24 over the final 20 minutes. The end result was a 78-56 setback that leaves the Eagles with an 11-16 record, 5-12 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

This was the final game of the regular season and for AU, it’s the final contest of the campaign. Ashland didn’t qualify for the eight-team GLIAC tournament which begins next weekend. Gannon, which finishes third in the GLIAC South Division, will compete in the league’s postseason tournament. The Golden Knights are 12-13, 8-9.

Ashland was outscored, 21-4 over the first 7:41 of the second half. That gave Gannon a 53-36 lead with 12:19 left in the game. In the second half, Gannon shot 57 percent (13-23) from the field and outrebounded the Eagles, 17-11. The home team didn’t have any problems at the free throw line either – hitting 17 of 19 attempts (.895) in the second half. Gannon’s long-range game was intact, too. From beyond the three-point arc, Gannon shot 64 percent (7-11). In the second half, Gannon fired in five of seven trey attempts.

Thirteen AU turnovers in the second half helped Gannon’s cause.

Ashland shot 47 percent (23-49) from the field for the game, but connected on only 39 percent (10-26) of its shots in the second half.

Katie Garms scored 17 points to lead the Knights. Guard Jen Gwin fired in 15 points (three for three from three-point range) and had eight assists. Kelly Irwin popped in 11 points and center Heather Chapman had 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

Sophomore forward Beth Everman led the Eagles with 20 points. Junior forward Alanna Buurma had 13 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.