The No. 12-ranked Eagles returned to their home court on Wednesday night and wasted no time to get started.

Ashland University’s women’s basketball team defeated the Hillsdale Chargers 80-42 in their conference home opener of the season. The Eagles improve their record to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Senior guard McKenzie Miller opened the game with a 3-point shot and added six more to the game. She set her career-high at 22 points and contributed five assists, five steals and three rebounds to the Eagles’ victory.

“She’s shooting lights out and playing confident,” said Fralick. “She’s worked hard to become the player she’s playing like.”

“I have some confidence right now,” said Miller. “But I wouldn’t be getting the shots if I didn’t have great teammates that are passing to me.”

Within the first five minutes of the first quarter, the Eagles were up 24-7 and took a 51-21 lead at halftime.

Sophomore forwards Andi Daugherty and Laina Snyder continued to impact the team’s play. Daugherty added 16 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Snyder posted her 18th career double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds) and added three assists and a team-high six steals.

Once the Eagles get their hands on the ball, there was no way of stopping their offensive attack. Hillsdale’s 28 turnovers resulted in 30 points for the Eagles.

“I thought we did a good job filling up the gaps,” said Fralick. “We got a lot of hands on the ball and we converted a lot of those into offense.”

The Eagles’ defense held the Chargers to a 26.7-percent shooting from the field and a 23.1-percent shooting from the 3-point line.

“Our defense became our offense,” said Miller. “That’s what we want to do every time and we try to hang our hat on that.”

Ashland also finished the game with 22 team steals.

“I was pleased with our team defense,” said Fralick. “If we get steals, obviously that’s a bonus, but our main focus is making sure they take tough shots.”

Junior guard Alex Henning contributed seven points, three rebounds and three steals for the Eagles. Off the bench, sophomore Julie Worley added eight points and three rebounds.

“The win is great and we need to celebrate,” said Fralick. “But the GLIAC is a grind and we know that we need to prepare for the next game. The trick is to never get too high or too low and the focus is always moving forward.”

The Eagles will return to Kate’s Gymnasium on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Saginaw Valley State.