GLIAC Women's Basketball: Preview of Ashland-Northern Michigan Game
March 1, 2004

GLIAC First Round Playoff Game
Northern Michigan (19-7/11-7) at Ashland (21-6/12-5)
Kates Gymnasium
Tuesday, Mar. 2, 2004, 7 p.m.

Seniors, Isolina Brescia (left) and Alanna Buurma (right) will be leading the charge as the Eagles host Northern Michigan in GLIAC first-round action.

Ashland-Northern Michigan
The Wildcats lead the series between the two teams, 11-0. This year, the teams played on Jan. 22, in Marquette, MI. The ‘Cats prevailed in that contest, 95-90. Grubaugh paced NMU with 26 points and four steals. Brooke had 20 points and nine rebounds and Samuelson contributed 18 points. Mason had 21 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for the Eagles. Rall and Bethune scored 18 points apiece, Buurma had 12 points and 13 rebounds and Brescia finished with 11 points. AU shot 56.9 percent (37-65) from the floor and the teams were even on the glass (38-38). But AU had 23 turnovers compared to 15 for NMU. Ashland led at halftime, 46-41 and was outscored, 54-44 over the final 20 minutes.

Ashland-Northern Michigan By The Numbers
Here's how Northern Michigan and Ashland compare statistically.

Players to Watch

• Northern Michigan – Tiffany Grubaugh, a 5-8 junior guard, is second in the GLIAC in scoring (19.9 ppg.), three-point field goals per game (2.62) and three-point field goal percentage (.420). She’s fifth in the conference in assists (3.92 apg.), sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.19) and tied for ninth in steals (2.0 spg.). This past week, Grubaugh scored 35 points at Ferris State and 23 at Grand Valley State…Emily Samuelson, a 5-9 senior guard, is listed in the GLIAC’s top 10 in seven statistical categories. She’s the league leader in steals (3.27 spg.), is third in assists (4.54 apg.), fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.24) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.417)…sophomore Michelle Moard is eighth in the conference in rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and 10th in free throw percentage (.814). The 6-1 Moard is also 14th in field goal percentage (.519). She had 14 boards at Ferris State…Andrea Brooks, a 5-9 junior forward, is fourth in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.847)…NMU’s head coach is Mike Geary. This is his 16th season at NMU and his 18th season as a college head coach. His record is 401-120 overall (77 percent winning percentage) and at NMU he’s 354-110 (76 percent).
• Ashland – Five players are averaging 10.0 ppg., or more for AU. That group includes freshman guard Amber Rall (13.7 ppg.), Isolina Brescia (13.2 ppg.), Dee Bethune (12.9 ppg.), Alanna Buurma (11.3 ppg.) and Jackie Mason (10.9 ppg.)…Mason is the GLIAC leader in field goal percentage (.643). She’s second in the league in rebounding (9.1 rpg.) and blocked shots (82-3.04 bpg.)…Buurma is sixth in the conference in rebounding (7.7 rpg.), eighth in blocks (22-0.81 bpg.) and ninth in field goal percentage (.535)…Brescia leads the GLIAC in free throw percentage (.892), is third in steals (65-2.4 spg.), fourth in assists (3.96 apg.) and 17th in scoring…Rall is eighth in the conference in field goal percentage (.543) and 12th in scoring…Sue Ramsey is in her ninth season as AU’s head coach. Ramsey’s record at Ashland is 128-115. Her lifetime record is 223-243 (17 seasons)…This year’s team has set a school single-season record for wins (21). This is the second time in school history AU has won 20 or more games, the Eagles went 20-6 in 1975-76.

Ashland’s GLIAC Tournament History
Here’s how Ashland has fared in GLIAC tournament play. AU’s record in the tournament is 2-5.

• 1995-96 - Lake Superior State, 85, Ashland 65
  
• 1996-97 - Saginaw Valley State 75, Ashland 71
  
• 1997-98 - Ashland 73, Hillsdale 70
  Ashland 101, Ferris State 92 (2 OT)
  Northern Michigan 94, Ashland 74 (Championship Game)
  
• 1998-99 - Michigan Tech 82, Ashland 47
  
• 2001-02 - Northern Michigan 84, Ashland 80 (OT)

Odds and Ends
Ashland enters the game with a six-game winning streak. Earlier this season AU had winning streaks of six and seven games…NMU has lost three of its last four games…the Eagles are 13-1 at home, the only setback came against Ferris State, 85-81 on Dec. 6. The Eagles have won nine consecutive home games…Mason has set a school single-season record for blocks (82) this season and has the second highest single-season rebound total (247). The rebound record already belongs to Mason (276, 2001-02)…Brescia needs 51 points to become the ninth player in the program’s history to score 1,000 or more points. Earlier this year, Buurma reached the 1,000-point plateau.