To make a deep tournament run, a team obviously has to be good, but it also needs to get some breaks along the way. Ashland’s women’s basketball team used a lot of skill and just a little bit of luck to beat Wisconsin-Parkside 78-65 Monday in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Final.

With 6:05 remaining, Wisconsin-Parkside’s Kaitlyn Bettiga made a jump shot to tie the game at 58. The Rangers had two chances to take the lead over the next two minutes, but were unable to convert.

With 4:05 left on the clock, Ashland junior forward Kari Daugherty held the ball in her hands just outside the 3-point line with the shot clock winding down.

“I didn’t just want to pull up and shoot a ‘3’ because I was hoping to get to the rim and draw a foul,” Daugherty said.

She got about halfway to the hoop before UW-Parkside’s Jaleesa Trussel stepped in front of her. Daugherty turned so that she was facing the opposite basket. With the shot clock about to hit zero, Daugherty spun and threw up a shot as the buzzer sounded.

“I honestly, when I shot that, was trying to just hit the rim so that we could get the offensive rebound, but I got a little help I guess,” she said.

The shot banked in off the glass and in, giving the Eagles a 60-58 lead that they would not relinquish.

“When I saw that bank shot, I was like, ‘yeah, I called that,’” Daugherty said.

Daugherty hit a jump shot on the next possession to widen the lead to four and junior center Beth Mantkowski drained a 15-foot jumper from the right corner to make it 64-58 with 2:46 left.

From there, Ashland made 14 straight free throws to seal the victory and earn a trip to the Elite Eight in San Antonio.

“I think as a coach of 33 years I’ve dreamed it plenty of times, and it’s truly my dream come true with these young ladies,” Ashland head coach Sue Ramsey said. “I’m very blessed.”

The game started out at a frantic pace that matched the atmosphere in Kates Gymnasium. Attendance was announced at 2,644, most of them dressed from head to toe in purple in what was declared a “purple out.”

“It was definitely an advantage for us,” Ramsey said. “The appreciation that we’ve gotten from the community of Ashland and the university over the last two weeks, appreciating how we play the game and appreciating why we play the game, and showing that today in their attendance as well as their enthusiasm – it just makes us feel very special and happy that people are celebrating it with us.”

Sophomore guard Alyssa Miller grabbed two offensive rebounds on Ashland’s first possession, setting the tone for a game in which the Eagles outrebounded the Rangers by 16 (38-22). Miller made a layup to give Ashland a 2-0 advantage in the opening minute.

Daugherty made three 3-pointers and went four of six from the field in the first nine minutes, scoring 12 points. The Rangers’ Amy Selk made a layup to tie the game at 21 with 10:40 left in the half. The Eagles led by as many as six in the opening period and went into the half with a 36-33 advantage.

Ashland never trailed in the second half. Every time the Eagles looked like they might go on a run and put the game away, however, it seemed like Jadee Rooney hit a shot for the Rangers that kept it close.

“She was hitting big shots left and right, and I knew that the only way we were going to win is if we played defense as a team,” Miller said.

Rooney, who finished with 22 points, scored just two points in the last 9:31. Miller guarded her throughout much of the game.

“I just told myself the whole time, ‘she cannot score, she’s not allowed to score,’” Miller said “I definitely was just frustrating her at the end, and it was a team effort to do that.”

Miller had four points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. Senior guard Jena Stutzman finished with 20 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. They were both named to the all-tournament team along with Rooney, UW-Parkside’s Brittany Beyer (19 points, five rebounds) and Quincy’s Ali Schwagmeyer.

Daugherty was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after a game-high 28 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. She was 10 of 20 from the field and four of eight from behind the arc. It was her 14th straight double double and her 24th of the season.

Junior guard Lindsay Tenyak had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, Ashley Dorner finished with seven points and three rebounds, and Mantkowski had six points and two rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.

It was the Eagles’ 31st win in a row, breaking the record for the longest win streak in Ashland history, set by the 1998 softball team.

“I don’t know that I could have predicted what these ladies have brought all year long, and just the chemistry that we have, the togetherness that we have, the love we have for each other, their desire to honor God in what they do on the floor every single moment, how they compete in practice, how they never take a possession off,” Ramsey said. “They’ve taken it one game at a time all year long, and I hear we’re going to Texas.”

Ashland advances to play 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20 in San Antonio against Alaska-Anchorage. The other six schools in the Elite Eight are Wayne State (Neb.), Bentley, Rollins, Lander, Shaw and Pittsburg State.