Ashland’s Daugherty Named 2012 GLIAC Women’s Basketball “Player of the Year”

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Mar. 2, 2012 - For immediate release

GLIAC Honors: Ferris State’s Branch Named Freshman of the Year; Ashland’s Ramsey Tabbed Coach of the Year

BAY CITY, Mich. - Ashland University junior forward Kari Daugherty (Fresno, Ohio/River View) was named the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women’s basketball “Player of the Year” in voting conducted by the league’s head coaches. Ferris State University forward Christina Branch (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Lutheran) was tabbed  “Freshman of the Year” while Ashland’s Sue Ramsey was named “Coach of the Year” by her peers.

 Daugherty is the GLIAC leader in scoring (20.3 ppg.) and rebounding (13.3 rpg.) and she’s second in assist-turnover ratio (1.8). She is the only player in the country to rank in the nation’s Top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.  She has established a school single-game record for rebounds (24) and is only the second player in school history to score 500 or more points in a season. Daugherty has 19 double-doubles which puts her third in the country.  Earlier this year against Findlay, she recorded the only triple-double (12 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists) in school history.

Branch made an immediate impact for the Bulldogs this season as she helped lead FSU to its first-ever outright GLIAC North Division Championship.  The 6-2 Branch currently ranks as the Bulldogs’ leading rebounder (8.0 rpg.) and the squad’s third-leading scorer (9.7 ppg.).  She’s listed among the league’s top 15 performers in rebounding, field goal percentage, blocked shots and defensive boards along with being fourth in offensive rebounds (3.0 pg.).  Branch has posted 11 double-figure scoring efforts this season with seven games of 10 or more rebounds.  Her presence inside helped lift the Bulldogs to a school-best 17-2 conference regular-season record along with a current 21-5 ledger this campaign.

Ramsey is in her 17th season at Ashland. Her record on the AU bench is 280-197 and in 25 years as a college head coach she is 375-325.  AU is 26-1 this season, has won 26 consecutive games and is ranked fourth in the country (WBCA D-II poll).  That win total is a school single-season record, as is Ashland’s No. 4 national ranking.   AU has won 20 or more games four times with Ramsey as the head coach. The only two trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs in school history came with Ramsey as the head coach (2003-04, 2005-06). This year’s team went 19-0 in GLIAC play. Ashland is the first team to go  unbeaten in conference play since Northern Michigan University in 1996-97.

A complete list of the 2012 All-GLIAC Women's Basketball teams can be found below: