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AU Women’s
Basketball Splits on Erie Trip |
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By Joe Monaco, AU Sports Information Complete Box Scores The Ashland University women’s basketball team earned a split with Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents – Mercyhurst College and Gannon University – this past weekend in Erie, PA. The Eagles opened up the trip with a 92-56 victory over the ‘Hurst before falling to the Golden Knights, 76-66. With the split, the Eagles are 7-3 and 2-2 in conference action. Below is a recap of both games. Ashland 92, Mercyhurst 56 (Mercyhurst
Athletic Center – Erie, PA) Sophomore center Nicole Wright (Springboro, OH) led AU with a career-high 14 points and junior Angie Heintz (Cincinnati, OH/Mother of Mercy) chipped in with a season-high 12 points. Alanna Buurma (Willard, OH), Isolina Brescia (Lima, Peru/Sir Isaac Newton) and Amber Rall (Bucyrus, OH/Wynford) each added 11 points apiece while Beth Everman (Maria Stein, OH/Marion Local) contributed with 10 points for the winners. Brescia has scored in double digits in eight of the nine games this season. Ashland took command of the game from beginning to finish as the Eagles opened the contest with a 2-0 lead on a layup by senior Jackie Mason (Olmsted Falls, OH. The AU center nearly missed her fifth double-double of the season after finishing with nine points and nine rebounds. She also added five assists, four steals and two blocks. Cassie Seth’s jumper from the baseline would tie the score up at 2-2, but that’s the closest that the Lakers would get to Ashland for the remainder of the game. With 11:47 remaining in the first half, Everman knocked down two free throws to give Ashland a 17-10 lead then followed with a 22-8 run over the next eight minutes to up the lead to 39-18 with 2:41 left in the first half. The Eagles strolled into halftime with a 45-29 advantage. Ashland opened up the second half similar to the way it finished the first with a 26-8 scoring burst in the half’s first eight minutes. AU held a 73-37 lead with 12:34 remaining and cruised home for the victory. The Eagles finished the game shooting 57 percent (37-65) from the field and 85 percent (17-20) from the charity stripe. Mercyhurst dropped to 0-8 on the season after shooting 38 percent (22-66) in the game. The Lakers committed 29 turnovers in the game, which resulted in 28 points for the Eagles. Julie Anderson led Mercyhurst with 20 points and seven rebounds while Seth finished with eight points. It was the second largest margin of victory for the Eagles in conference action. Ashland defeated Northwood, 103-60, in the 1997-98 season. Gannon 76, Ashland 66 (Hammermill Center –
Erie, PA) The Eagles took a 41-37 lead going into halftime after Everman sunk a jumper with two seconds remaining. AU controlled the tempo in the first half and pressured the Golden Knights into committing 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, resulting in 17 Eagles points. In the next 20 minutes, the roles were reversed as Gannon controlled the flow of the game and Ashland was the team committing crucial turnovers. With the score 42-41 in favor of Ashland, Buurma had the ball stolen by Lisa Fairman, who drained a three-pointer at the other end of the floor to give Gannon a 44-42 lead. With the lead under their belts, the Golden Knights would never relinquish it. A three-pointer by Melissa Howe (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard-Davidson) got the Eagles to within one point at 53-52 with 9:56 remaining in the game, but the Golden Knights proceeded to go on a 14-6 run and took a 67-58 lead after two free throws by Fairman. Fairman finished the game with 13 points. Ashland was never able to get any closer than five points in the final minutes of the contest. Rall led the Eagles with 16 points coming off the bench while Buurma and Dee Bethune (Akron, OH/Hoban) finished with 14 points and 13 points respectively. Mason ended the game with seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Gannon was led by senior forward Katie Garms, who scored 24 points and grabbed eight boards. Emily Thornbury had 19 points, including draining four three-pointers. Point guard Jen Gwin had 14 points, six rebounds and six assists and Christina Jackson had 10 rebounds. Ashland shot 40 percent (27-67) from the floor, but only shot 31 percent (10-32) in the second half. The Golden Knights made 47 percent (25-54) of their shots. Gannon improved to 8-3 (3-0 in the GLIAC) with the victory. The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday (Dec. 20) as AU welcomes Charleston to Kates Gymnasium. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. |