Release courtesy of the Ashland University Sports Information Department
SAN ANTONIO -- Ashland University head coach Sue Ramsey and her team have preached a "one game at a time" mentality all season. It helps keep things in perspective when in a 31-game winning streak.
On Tuesday (March 20) afternoon, the Eagles used that mentality to win their 32nd straight game, 71-51, over Alaska-Anchorage at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio.
Senior guard Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio/Hiland/Kent State) scored 18 points and junior guard Lindsay Tenyak (Wadsworth, Ohio) added 17 points on the strength of five 3-pointers.
The Eagles (32-1) were 9-for-16 from 3-point range in the game and shot 48 percent (24-for-50) overall.
The Seawolves (30-5) were held to just 51 points and had a season-low 23 points at halftime. UAA shot just 31.7 percent (20-for-63) from the field.
"We just focus on the things that we can control, which is our defense and rebounding, and we used those in the win today," Ramsey said.
Alaska-Anchorage, the only team ranked better than AU offensively left in the tournament, came out with an early 6-2 lead, but AU quickly erased that and turned it into an 18-8 lead.
Tenyak hit three of her five 3-pointers in the first half as she led the Eagles with 11 points at the break.
"I want to thank my teammates for their passes. Alyssa (Miller) looks right at me on the skip passes," said Tenyak. "We found out during shootaround that it's a shooter's gym and our shots were falling."
After UAA's opening salvo, the Eagles frustrated the Seawolves defensively. All-American Hanna Johansson had 13 of her team's 23 first-half points on 5-for-10 shooting. She was 1-for-6 in the second half.
"In the first half, they were physical with us. We talked at halftime about needing to be stronger," said junior forward Kari Daugherty (Fresno, Ohio/River View/Dayton). "Their motto was to be as physical as they could with us."
Daugherty finished with 14 points (4-for-10) and 13 rebounds for her 16th straight double-double.
The Seawolves actually out-rebounded the Eagles, 39-32, for the game and pulled down 17 offensive rebounds - a season-high for an AU opponent.
The Eagles will now play Bentley (Mass.) in the national semifinal at 7 p.m. Eastern time.