Eagles edge Lady Huskies in Ashland
Courtesy of MTU Athletics
ASHLAND, Ohio – GLIAC Player of the Year Kari Daugherty scored 33 points to lead No. 2 Ashland to an 81-68 win over the Michigan Tech women’s basketball team in the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament Saturday (March 9).
The game was a lot closer than the final score dictated with four ties and nine lead changes.
The Huskies made four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with a 22-18 edge in points in the point, but the Eagles led 41-38 at halftime.
AU’s lead grew to 14 points at the 14:20 mark of the second half, but the Huskies answered with an 8-0 run over the next four minutes.
Junior Paige Albi closed the Tech deficit to four points with three free throws at 6:44. The Eagles lead ballooned back to double digits over the next three minutes. Senior Sam Hoyt drained a 3-pointer with 77 seconds remaining to pull the Huskies within nine, 73-64, but the Eagles finished the game on an 8-4 run for the win.
“We battled with everything we had today,” said head coach Kim Cameron. “It’s a three point game at half and a four point game with four and a half minutes remaining. Every rebound and every bucket matters in games like these. Ashland shot lights out, and I think we ran out of gas at the end. The effort, the enthusiasm and the fight was all there.”
Tech, who shot 48.5-percent (16-33) in the first half, shot 24.2-percent (8-33) over the final 20 minutes.
The Eagles shot 21-of-24 from the free throw line, including a perfect 14-of-14 in the second half. The Huskies finished 13-of-17 from the line.
AU finished with a 38-28 rebounding advantage, but the Huskies only turned the ball over seven times while forcing 13.
Hoyt led the Huskies with 17 points, and senior Emma Veach chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Freshman Dani Blake was the third Husky in double figures with 11 points.
Three other Eagles, Daiva Gerbec (17), Taylor Woods (11) and Alyssa Miller (10), joined Daugherty in double digits.
Tech (20-8) will find out if they are one of the 64 teams selected to the NCAA Div. II Women’s Basketball Tournament Sunday (March 10) evening.