2018 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BRACKET
ASHLAND, Ohio -- The No. 1 Ashland University Eagles defeated Drury University to capture the 2018 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Championship on Monday (March 12) inside Kates Gymnasium on the campus of Ashland University. Ashland moves to 34-0 on the season with their 71st consecutive victory following their second-consecutive regional title and a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight slated to begin Monday, March 19th in Sioux Falls, South Dakota inside the Sanford Pentagon.
#1 ASHLAND DEF. #2 DRURY, 79-73 | BOX SCORE
The Eagles jumped out to a 25-18 advantage after one quarter of action forcing 11 Drury turnovers as the crowd fueled the AU fight. Ashland pushed the lead to as many as 15 in the second quarter before finishing the first half up 11 after shooting 62.1 percent from the floor in a sloppy contest featuring 31 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of play. GLIAC Player of the Year Jodi Johnson was perfect in the first half going 6-for-6 from the floor with three triples to post 16 points.
Drury fought back in the third quarter and cut the deficit to as little as seven points before AU finished the frame up ten with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. Drury came back to tie it up before AU's Andi Daugherty drove to the basketball and got fouled with 11.7 seconds on the game clock. Drury then received a technical foul which rewarded Daugherty with four free throws which she proceeded to make with unmatched ease to put the game away as the Eagles soared to victory.
Ashland earned the victory despite 26 turnovers from each team and being narrowly outrebounded by the Panthers. The Eagles were solid from the foul stripe all night going 20-of-22 while Drury only got to the foul line twice in the contest. Johnson finished the night with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while seniors Andi Daugherty and Laina Snyder posted 19 and 16 points, respectively, in the final games of their heralded careers at Kates Gymnasium.
2018 ALL-MIDWEST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jodi Johnson, Ashland (Most Valuable Player)
Laina Snyder, Ashland
Hailey Diestelkamp, Drury
Cassidy Boensch, Grand Valley State
Jessica Kelliher, Lewis
