The Ashland women (18-7) responded to a last second loss to Findlay (13-10) on Thursday with a big win Saturday against the 12th ranked Wayne State (20-3).

Ashland played against Findlay earlier in the season, getting the 77-66 victory at home, but fell short on the road.

The Eagles struggled the entire game against Findlay in a 74-72 loss. Head coach Sue Ramsey saw a couple areas in need of improvement. 

“Two things really stood out. One, our defensive pressure, especially one-on-one, was not what it has been,” said Ramsey. “The second thing being we didn’t take care of the basketball.”

Ashland turned the ball over 25 times, a season high for the Eagles. Findlay would score 24 points off those 25 turnovers.

Even though the Eagles did not play well through most of the game, they were able to tie the game with under a minute left.

Ashland possessed the ball with 30 seconds left in a tie ballgame, 72-72. However, a turnover gave the ball back to Findlay and they would score the game winner.

“It’s hard,” Ramsey said about losing a game in the final seconds. “We had a chance to possibly pull it out, but we’ll learn from it.”

The leading scorers for both teams were players coming off the bench. Ashland’s Suzy Wollenhaupt scored 17 points while Findlay’s Margaret Wuebker had 16.

Ramsey made sure to keep everyone set and focused for their next matchup. “The nice thing about basketball is that you get right back on the court.”

That is exactly what AU would do as they traveled to Michigan to take on Wayne State. 

Wayne State was undefeated at home going into the game, but that would not remain the case after facing the Eagles.

“Our team was ready for the game plan,” said Ramsey. “To do that on their home court was a tremendous accomplishment.”

The Eagles beat Wayne State earlier in the season in an 84-68 game at home. AU is currently the only team to beat Wayne State on their home court this season. The Eagles are also the only team to defeat them twice this year.

Wayne State’s star player, senior Shareta Brown, had a double-double scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Those appear to be great stats on the surface, but both are below Brown’s averages, 21.5 points and 14.1 rebounds per game, on the season. Brown also fouled out with 25 minutes of playing time. She fouled out in the first game against AU as well.

Ramsey saw multiple factors in how they were able to contain Brown. One player that was given a lot of credit was freshman Andi Daugherty.

“Daugherty’s size and mobility really helps us out a lot.” Ramsey said. She also said having depth in her post spots was significant as well.

The Eagles’ senior guard Taylor Woods was the leading contributor on offense with 22 points. Daugherty had a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Wayne State did not own a lead at any point in the game. Ramsey pointed out the resiliency the Eagles displayed throughout the game.

“They made a run at us and we kept our composure,” said Ramsey. “Every time they made a run or hit a basket, we responded. We didn’t back down”

The next game on the schedule for Ashland is at home against Ohio Dominican (5-13) Thursday at 5:30.

The Eagles will face Tiffin on Saturday. This game will mark the final regular season home game for Ramsey, who is retiring at the end of the season.