Box Score
ASHLAND, Ohio – In the closing moments, the bank was open twice for Ashland forward Andi Daugherty as Ursuline nearly busted the bracket wide open.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference representative at the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship Midwest Regional almost pulled off what some observers would call an improbable upset in Kates Gymnasium on Friday.
Daugherty gave top-seeded Ashland a 70-69 lead with 14 seconds left and proceeded to sink the game-winning shot with less than a second remaining in regulation vs. No. 8 Ursuline for a final of 72-70.
In mirroring fashion, Daugherty’s sweeping right-handed shots off glass finished off the final five points for the Eagles, who were thrown a scare on their home court as regional host.
With 10 seconds on the clock in the second half, Ursuline’s Erica Huber split a trip at the line and the Arrows used their final foul with one to give.
Ashland denied overtime and dumped the ball down low to Daugherty for what turned out to be the most important of her game-high 24 points.
The Arrows trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, but pieced together an impressive really against a team with a 30-1 record and were undaunted by the third-ranked team in the nation.
During a tumultuous day in the Midwest Region bracket that saw No. 7 Saginaw Valley State and No. 6 Grand Valley State topple the No. 2/3 seeds, the G-MAC tournament champion Arrows had their sights set on the same outcome.
But after trailing by 11 points at the end of the first quarter, the Arrows had to dig deep and promptly responded by winning the next three periods.
Sophomore forward Camryn Hill’s short baseline jumper beat the halftime buzzer as the Arrows whittled down the 19-point hole down to single digits at a manageable 45-37 score.
Freshman Natalie Koenig continued to dazzle in the postseason (29 pts vs. TNU in G-MAC semifinals), leading the Arrows with 22 points. She was a thorn in the side of Ashland by sinking shots with a high degree of difficulty and breaking down defenders with the dribble in isolation.
The Arrows outshot the Eagles by almost six percent and had 12 more points in the paint than their opponent. Koenig led four in double figures as Huber, G-MAC Player of the Year Laney Lewis and Camryn Hill, each had a dozen. Lewis and Hill also tallied double-doubles with their rebounding totals.
The Arrows finished their season at 25-4 overall. Ursuline was the G-MAC’s co-regular season champ and won the tournament title at the Stano Athletic Center.
Ursuline is the G-MAC’s second-ever NCAA qualifier in women’s basketball after Cedarville was also assigned the No. 8 seed at top seed Michigan Tech in the 2015 Midwest Regional.