In the fourth meeting with the Walsh Cavaliers this season, the Eagles were knocked out of the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship tournament with a 72-62 loss at the hands of their conference rival.

Walsh simply had the upper hand on the Eagles this time around, leading 13-7 early, and 40-26 at halftime. Despite Ashland’s best efforts to claw back into the game, closing the deficit to as little as six points, it was not enough to stop the Cavaliers.

“The season isn’t defined by one game,” head coach Kari Pickens said after the loss. “We were able to walk off the court knowing that we gave all we had, and that’s all you can ask from your team.”

Ashland ends its season with a 23-3 record, with two of the three losses coming against Walsh. The two teams squared off against each other four times and split the season series 2-2. Each game between the two squads was a competitive affair. The Eagles claimed the first of the four games with a tight 87-84 win in North Canton, Ohio in late December. The Cavaliers responded with a 83-76 overtime win over the Eagles in the second matchup at Kates Gymnasium in February.

The two teams met again for the third time in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) championship title game earlier this month. Ashland won the game 73-63 to claim its first GMAC title and clinch a top seed in the NCAA tournament. In the fourth matchup however, Walsh got the win when it mattered most.

“A lot of credit to Walsh,” Pickens said. “We had to face them four times this year, and it was a battle every single game.”

Walsh would fall to Grand Valley State in the Midwest region championship on Monday in a tight 64-61 loss.

In its first year in the GMAC, the Ashland women’s basketball program has established itself as an annual contender in the conference. The team has also established a clear rivalry with the Walsh Cavaliers, with plenty more exciting games between the two squads sure to come in the following years.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, there is much to be celebrated about the 2021-2022 Ashland women’s basketball campaign.

For Pickens, one of the highlights of the season was being in the room with her team when it was announced that Ashland would be hosting the midwest regional tournament.

“The atmosphere in the room was so joyous,” Pickens said. “For about two minutes, you couldn’t hear anything coming from the TV. We were celebrating too loudly to hear anything.”

Among hosting both the GMAC and Midwest Regional tournaments, the Eagles also experienced a 19-game winning streak that lasted a majority of the season. The team managed to navigate a COVID-19 scare in January and continued to win, despite the limited team at times.

The team saw an emergence of new and upcoming stars, such as freshmen Hayley Smith and Morgan Yoder, sophomore Sydney Jacobsen, and transfer junior Macy Spielman. The season also saw veterans such as junior Annie Roshak and seniors Karlee Pireu and Haillee Heidemann step into a leadership role.

Perhaps the most memorable moment from this year’s team was in its first-round Midwest Regional matchup against Ferris State, when Heidemann hit a long three-pointer with six seconds left in the game to give the Eagles a 76-73 win over the Bulldogs amd sending the fans at Kates Gymnasium into a frenzy.

While seniors like Pireu and Heidemann will not be around next season, a majority of the team’s core will still be intact. The chase for another national championship will once agains be the goal for the Eagles in 2023.