The Ashland University women’s basketball team is ready to take on a new season in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).
The Eagles, who finished with a 31-2 overall record and a 20-0 G-MAC record, are looking to build a chase for national title No. 4 with loss against Ferris State in last season’s NCAA Midwest Regional.
They look for redemption as they kick off the season away at the D2CAA Tip-Off Classic against Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern on Saturday Nov. 2 and Sunday Nov. 3.
The team graduated all-time leading scorer, Annie Roshak, who put up 14.6 points per game. The team looks towards other players to build off of Roshak’s career.
Players like senior forward Zoe Miller took on even more significant roles offensively last season. Miller averaged 13.9 points per game while shooting a mind-blowing 60.1% from the field. Her ability to score inside the stretch with her 41.5% from three-point range factor in the Eagles of this upcoming season.
Senior guard Hayley Smith will also step up to the plate. Smith was a force on both ends of the court, averaging 9.8 points and leading the team with 7.8 rebounds per game.
Additionally, look for more contributions from sophomore Lexi Howe, who averaged 8.9 points per game last season while shooting 71.0 percent from the free-throw line.
The team held 83.4 points per game last season and rebounded 1293.
But it doesn’t stop there for the Eagles. This off-season, they brought in new faces such as Corri Vermilya and Ashley Mullett.
Vermilya stood out at Loudonville High School, scoring over 2,958 points, and was named Division three player of the year while Mullett was named the 2023-24 Daily Record player of the year and came out of Berlin Hiland.
The team has been slotted number five in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division II Preseason Coaches’ Poll, making it their third consecutive season being in the top five of this polling.
The Eagles will kick off their season in St. Joseph, Missouri, on November 2 at 4:30 PM Eastern time against Northwest Missouri State in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic.
