Ashland University Women’s Basketball – Playoff Notebook
March 9, 2004

NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament
March 12-15, 2004, Quincy University, Quincy, IL

About the Eagles
The Eagles come into the NCAA regional tournament with a 22-7 record. Ashland has won six of its last seven games. Last week, AU advanced to the semifinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament where it lost in overtime to Ferris State, 86-80 in overtime. Ashland, the sixth seed in the NCAA tournament, will square off with third-seeded Ferris State in the first round of the regional tournament.

AU won the GLIAC South Division championship with a 12-5 record. This is the first time Ashland has ever advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Of the eight teams in this year’s regional field, the Eagles are the only team that hasn’t made a previous trip to the postseason party. This year’s team has set a school single-season record for victories. The previous high came in 1975-76 when Ashland went 20-6.

This year’s AU team was terrific at home, going 14-1. On the road, AU is 5-5 and on a netural court, the Eagles are 3-1. Ashland is 2-2 against the teams in the playoff field – 0-2 against Ferris State and 1-0 against both Lake Superior State and Indianapolis.

Head Coach Sue Ramsey
This is Ramsey’s ninth season in Ashland. She’s won 17 or more games four times on the AU bench. Ramsey has the most victories (129) of any women’s basketball coach in school history. Prior to coming to AU, she was the head coach at the University of Dayton for eight seasons. Ramsey’s career record as a collegiate head coach is 224-244.

Ramsey’s tenure at AU has been filled by record-setting performances. In addition to guiding this year’s team to a school-record 22 wins and the first NCAA postseason berth in school history, three of the eight players who have scored 1,000 or more points in Ashland history have suited up for Ramsey. The program’s career leaders in scoring, assists and blocked shots have all toiled under Ramsey.

Meet the Eagles
Information on Ashland’s top players can be found below.

• Dee Bethune (Akron, OH/Hoban) – Bethune is one of AU’s best all-around athletes and easily the most improved player on this year’s team. A year ago she averaged 5.9 ppg., 1.9 rpg., and 13.2 minutes per game while starting once in 26 games. This year she’s started all 29 games and is logging 29.3 minutes per game. She’s second on the team and 17th in the GLIAC in scoring (13.1 ppg.). The 5-8 sophomore guard is 19th in the conference in field goal percentage (.473) and 20th in free throw percentage (.771). Earlier this year against the University of Charleston she set a school single-game record for free throws made (17-21).
• Isolina Brescia (Lima, Peru/Sir Isaac Newton) – The 5-9 senior is Ashland’s starting point guard. She is first in the GLIAC in free throw percentage (.884), third in steals (73/2.52 spg.), fourth in assists (4.14 apg.) and 19th in scoring (12.9 ppg.). Brescia is a second team All-GLIAC choice this season. She’s been named to the GLIAC All-Academic Team the last two seasons and will be on that team again this year thanks to a 3.49 GPA as a Spanish Education major. Brescia needs 33 points to become the ninth player in school history to score 1,000 or more points.
• Alanna Buurma (Willard, OH) – The 6-2 senior forward is a two-time All-GLIAC first team selection. She earned that distinction this year by producing 11.7 ppg., and 8.0 rpg. Buurma has recorded double-doubles (23 points-10 rebounds vs. Northern Michigan, 12 points-14 rebounds. vs. Lake Superior State) in her last two games. She’s seventh in school history in points scored (1,205). Buurma is AU’s career leader in field goal percentage (.552/425-769) and free throw percentage (.836/338-404). The Willard, OH, product, is sixth in the GLIAC in rebounding, eighth in blocked shots (23/0.8 bpg.), ninth in field goal percentage (.538) and 12th in free throw percentage (.808). Buurma carries a 3.69 GPA as an Early Childhood Education major. She’s been a member of the GLIAC All-Academic Team the last two years and will be on that team again in 2003-04.
• Beth Everman (Maria Stein, OH/Marion Local) – Very few teams have a player who can come off the bench and produce like Everman. The 6-0 junior forward averages 6.8 ppg., and 5.1 rpg. She had 11 points and nine rebounds in AU’s 95-82 win over Northern Michigan in the first round of the GLIAC playoffs. Last season, she was 13th in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.489).
• Angie Heintz (Cincinnati, OH/Mother of Mercy) – Heintz spent the last two years as a point guard. This year, the 5-11 junior made the move to forward. She sees the court extremely well and is a poised player under pressure. She’s averaging 5.4 ppg., and 3.1 rpg. She’s third on the team in assists (71).
• Melissa Howe (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard-Davidson) – A 5-7 freshman guard, Howe provides the Eagles with long-range scoring off the bench. She’s appeared in 29 games and is averaging 4.4 ppg. She’s tied for second on the team in three-point field goals (20).
• Jackie Mason (Olmsted Falls, OH) - Mason fills up a lot of statistical categories. The 6-4 junior center is the GLIAC leader in field goal percentage (.549/147-268), is second in blocked shots (88/3.03 bpg.) and rebounds (265/9.1 rpg.). Mason is AU’s career leader in blocked shots (181). She’s rejected 88 shots this year and that’s a school record. Mason is the only player in school history to average a double-double (14.5 ppg., 10.2 rpg., 2001-02). She has the two highest single-season rebound totals in school history (276-2001-02/265-this year).
  
  Earlier this year at Wayne State, Mason set a school single-game record for rebounds (21). She is third in career rebounds (676) at Ashland. The junior is a member of the 2003-04 GLIAC All-Defensive Team. This is the second time in her career she’s earned that honor. She’s averaging 11.0 ppg. Mason is a first team CoSIDA Academic All-District choice and is on the national ballot to be a CoSIDA Academic All-America. She has a 3.89 GPA as an Early Childhood Education major. Mason missed all of last season with a foot injury.
• Amber Rall (Bucyrus, OH/Wynford) – Rall is the 2003-04 GLIAC freshman of the year. The 5-7 rookie guard hasn’t started a game all year, but she is the team’s leading scorer (14.2 ppg.). Rall is 12th in the GLIAC in scoring and eighth in field goal percentage (.549). Over AU’s last six games, Rall is averaging 19.6 ppg., and has surpassed 20 points three times. In AU’s GLIAC semifinal loss against Ferris State, Rall had a team-high 22 points. The freshman is fourth on the team in steals (30).

Ashland As a Team
The Eagles have been among the GLIAC’s most powerful teams this season. The Eagles’ best GLIAC rankings can be found below.

Ashland Against the Tournament Field
Here’s how AU has fared against this year’s NCAA tournament field.

• Bellarmine – Bellarmine owns a 21-2 advantage in the all-time series with AU. The teams last played in 1994-95 in Ashland and Bellarmine won, 81-76. That was when both teams were in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Ashland moved to the GLIAC in 1995-96.
• Ferris State – FSU leads the all-time series, 8-5. The Bulldogs have beaten AU twice this season, 85-81 at Ashland on Dec. 6, and 86-80 in overtime last Friday (Mar. 5) in the semifinals of the GLIAC tourney at Lake Superior State. FSU is the only team to beat Ashland at Kates Gymnasium this year. The Bulldogs have beaten the Eagles three consecutive times. The last AU victory was a 71-66 triumph in 2001-02.
• Indianapolis – The Eagles dumped the Greyhounds, 71-64 at Indianapolis back on Nov. 21. That was AU’s second game of the season and started a six-game AU winning streak. Indy is in front in the all-time series, 16-8, but Ashland has won the last three games between the schools.
• Lake Superior State – The Lakers lead the series, 7-3 but AU won at Sault Ste. Marie, MI, this year, 91-87 in overtime. That game was played on Jan. 24. Ashland has won two of the last three games with LSSU.
• Northern Kentucky – AU and NKU are old foes. The teams met regularly when AU was in the GLVC and the teams have played three times since the Eagles moved to the GLIAC. Northern Kentucky leads the series, 21-4. The teams last played in 1998-99 in Ashland and the Norse prevailed, 80-69. AU has won two of the last three meetings.
• Quincy – The all-time series is knotted, 1-1. The teams last met in 2001-02 and Quincy won in overtime, 75-72. That game was played in Orlando, FL.
• Southern Indiana – AU has not played the Screaming Eagles since both teams called the GLVC home. The all-time series tips in Ashland’s favor, 14-6. The last time the two teams collided came near the end of the 1994-95 season at USI where the Eagles lost, 99-82.

Notes From the Nest
Ramsey did not coach the Eagles when AU was in the GLVC. Her first season was Ashland’s first year in the GLIAC…Ashland is located in northeastern Ohio, midway between Cleveland (50 miles to the north) and Columbus (85 miles to the south)…AU has outrebounded the opposition by at least four rebounds for five consecutive games. The last time AU didn’t outrebound the opposition came on Feb. 14, when Gannon led on the glass, 46-43. Ashland has won the rebounding war in eight of the last nine games…the Eagles feature five players who average 11.0 ppg., or more and six players who average 22.0 or more minutes per game…three players are shooting 53 percent or better from the floor and six shoot 44 percent or better…in 2003-04 AU has had two seven-game winning streaks and one six-game win skein.