2018 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BRACKET

ASHLAND, Ohio -- The No. 1 Ashland University Eagles defeated Grand Valley State 80-68 in a thrilling 2018 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional Semifinal contest on Saturday (March 10) inside Kates Gymnasium on the campus of Ashland University. Ashland moves to 33-0 on the year with the win and earns a spot in Monday night's Regional Championship game against No. 2 seed Drury at 7:00 PM in Ashland.

The defending national champions forced GVSU into 29 turnovers and converted those into 38 points which proved to be the difference in the contest. AU also controlled the paint by a 50-34 margin despite the Lakers firing 61.2 percent from the floor as GVSU's Cassidy Boensch led all scorers with 27 points and nine rebounds on 12-of-14 shooting. 

All five Ashland starters reached double-figure scoring and were guided by a team-high 20 points from Laina Snyder who went 10-for-13 from the field. Renee Stimpert and Jodi Johnson dropped in 19 points each in the victory. It was the fourth meeting this season between both schools, including the second time the teams have met in the last six days.