‘AU Eagle Basketball’ secures a national championship
By Chris Bils
March 30, 2013
“AU Eagle Basketball” cannot be explained in a sentence. It cannot be accomplished with just one person. It is not just the five players on the floor at any given time. It is the vision of one woman—head coach Sue Ramsey—and what she calls playing the game the right way, and it takes a whole team...
Eagles keep dancing in National Championship
By Chris Bils
March 23, 2012
SAN ANTONIO — Great players play great in big games. Never was that saying truer than in Ashland’s 77-62 victory over Bentley in the NCAA Division II Women’s Final Four in San Antonio. The win propels the Eagles into the national championship game, which will be 8 p.m. Friday against Shaw (N.C.). Junior All-American forward Kari Daugherty tied a career high with 31 points, grabbed 22 rebounds – one shy of tying a tournament record – and dished out six assists while senior guard Jena Stutzman had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Eagles. Stutzman started the game on fire, scoring seven points and dishing out an assist in transition before the first media timeout as Ashland took a 15-2 lead. The Eagles were looking good, and after Daugherty scored eight points over a span of just over three minutes they led 33-13 with 6:33 to play in the first half. Just as Bentley did in an 18-point comeback against nationally-ranked no. 1 Wayne State (Neb.), the Falcons fought back to within five before the half was over. Just when it looked like the momentum was shifting Bentley’s way, Stutzman made one of the defining plays of her career. She held the ball between the center circle and the 3-point line as the clock wound down at the end of the first half. “I was going to try to get some penetration and just try to get a jump shot off or a dish to the post, but then she backed off me so I was like, ‘Ooh, I’m just gonna let it fly,’” Stutzman said. The ball flew straight through the bottom of the net for three points that put the Eagles up 38-30 going into halftime and did a lot to raise their morale going into the second half. “That was huge going into halftime,” Daugherty said. “It really gave us the momentum going into the second half.” Bentley opened the second half with two quick baskets that cut the lead to four and would cut it to three (40-37) with just under two minutes gone. That would be as close as the Falcons would come, however. The Eagles used stingy defense, a rebounding edge of 11 and – as always – excellent free throw shooting (14 of 16) to hold off another Bentley comeback. “I think one great thing about our team is that we never get shaken,” Stutzman said. “We never get down, we’re confident in each other, we’re always huddling on the floor, we’re always saying ‘defense and rebounding, defense and rebounding’ because you can’t win games trading baskets with a team.” The Eagles also got big shots on the offensive end from players other than Stutzman and Daugherty, especially once the Falcons began pouring players onto Daugherty when she caught the ball in the post. She repeatedly found the open player, leading to clutch shots from junior forward Beth Mantkowski, sophomore guard Alyssa Miller and sophomore forward Ashley Dorner. “Alyssa and Ashley and everyone relocated to a spot where it was easy to hit them,” Duagherty said. It wasn’t that hard, all I had to do was turn and they were right there and they were able to knock down some shots. “It was just a great overall team game. We could not have beaten a team of that caliber without everyone playing their best basketball.” Miller finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists, Dorner had ten points and four rebounds and Mantkowski had two points and two rebounds in ten minutes. With just over three minutes left and the Eagles up by 10, Daugherty hit a 3-pointer from the left wing. On Ashland’s next possession, Stutzman hit another “3” from the exact same spot and just like that the game was out of reach. The focus now shifts to the national championship. Just like Ashland, Shaw has never won a national title. That will change come Friday night. No matter what happens, however, there is only one player who will be playing her last game in an Ashland uniform. “This has been our goal all year, and I feel so blessed to get to play my last game in the national championship,” Stutzman said. “I couldn’t ask for a better team and better coaches, and it’s an amazing feeling.”
AU Volleyball adds two promotions for Oct. 8 and 9
By AU Sports Info
October 6, 2011
The Ashland University volleyball team faces one of its most important weekends of the season on Oct. 7, 8 and 9. The AU athletic marketing department has added two promotions in conjunction with that weekend. The weekend schedule appears below. 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 - Grand Valley State at Ashland 2 p.m....
Women’s soccer back to .500
By Chris Bils
September 22, 2011
The women's soccer team went 2-1 last week, moving their record to 3-3-1 (2-2-1 GLIAC). Ashland scored four goals and conceded three. Freshman Kathleen Demaree scored her second and third goals of the season, one in each of the team's wins. Lake Erie (1-3-1, 0-2-0 GLIAC) Ashland scored a go-ahead goal...
USTFCCCA Top 25 rankings
By Nick Zavarella
April 21, 2011
The National Team Computer Rankings for the 2011 outdoor track and field season in NCAA Division II were released April 14. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced the leaders. Abilene Christian took the top spot with 213.43 points while Adams State moved u...
New bats or old, Schaly’s a winner
By Nick Zavarella
April 21, 2011
The Eagles (21-12, 10-8 GLIAC) were back on the road last weekend but the Ashland University baseball team took three-of-four for the second weekend in a row. AU won the series at Ohio Dominican last weekend and got above .500 against GLIAC teams by only dropping one to Saginaw Valley (14-18, 9-11 GL...
A new look arrives for AU baseball facility
By AU Sports Info
April 14, 2011
Once again this season, the Ashland University baseball team is playing its home games at Donges Field. This year, however, that facility has a new look. This is not a fashion statement, it is an effort to bring players, fans and AU alumni a better experience. An expansion of the faci...
Gerbec sets career high, but Eagles go 1-1 on the weekend
By Matt Brubaker
February 3, 2011
Models can come in many different varieties. Models can be classic cars, people or a characteristic. Daiva Gerbec has been the model of consistency for the Eagle basketball team in recent weeks and this past week was no different, as she posted two more double-doubles and a career-high in points again...
Eagles sweep weekend road trip
By Matt Brubaker
January 27, 2011
The Ashland University women's basketball team learned two things during this weekend's sweep of the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals and Lake Superior State Lakers: free throws will win you games and when someone can't miss, feed them the ball. The Eagles defeated the Cardinals Thursday 79-60 then fol...
Eagles dominate holiday tournament
By Matt Brubaker
December 2, 2010
Most use the Thanksgiving holiday to rest and lay low for a couple days. The Ashland women's basketball team used the five-day break to show off their skills on the hardwood by running over Urbana and Wheeling Jesuit Nov. 27 and 28, and improved their record to 5-0 on the season. Urbana The Eagles used an...
Ellenwood undefeated in opening games at AU
By Nick Zavarella
November 18, 2010
The Ashland University men's basketball team (1-0, 0-0) opened its season against Lourdes (3-4) Tuesday night at Kates Gymnasium. The men, who played at 5:30 because of the Title IX change, defeated the Gray Wolves, 80-70 capturing the first win of the season for AU. Evan Yates got the Eagles started, sc...
Eagles dominate Oilers, win 56-7
By Matt Brubaker
November 4, 2010
The state of Ohio is used to dominating college football rivalries lately. The Ohio State Buckeyes have won six straight over the Michigan Wolverines and now the Ashland Eagles have won four in a row over the Findlay Oilers, winning Saturday's contest, 56-7 at Donnell Stadium. The Eagles have won the last...