The 2011-12 Ashland women’s basketball season has been one to remember. Currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, the team has won 26 straight games and shows no signs of slowing down. Over the next week and a half, the Eagles will play host to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association and NCAA Midwest Regional tournaments.

These are games that should be savored and remembered by everyone in the Ashland community. Remember the great plays. Remember the high fives. Remember the milestones. Most of all, savor the moments that make this team so much fun to watch.

Saturday’s win over Michigan Tech in the GLIAC semifinals was huge. It put the Eagles into the conference final and avenged last year’s loss to the Huskies in the final round. Kari Daugherty had a career high in points (31) and grabbed 20 rebounds. Alyssa Miller barely let Michigan Tech’s Sam Hoyt breathe, let alone get an open shot, for 40 minutes.

The game also marked a milestone for Jena Stutzman. It was the first time since she injured her knee over a year ago that she has played without a knee brace. She opted to wear a sleeve instead, saying that she finally felt ready and had been given the go-ahead by her trainer.

“I don’t think it made a huge difference,” Stutzman said in her postgame interview.

Daugherty, who was sitting next to her, gave Stutzman a sideways glance and said, “You shot pretty well.”

Considering that Daugherty saw what the rest of us that were there saw, that was easily the understatement of the day. All Stutzman did was drain six 3-pointers on eight attempts and score 28 points.

“Jena had a little hop in her step today,” head coach Sue Ramsey said.

She also made some crucial shots down the stretch that helped sink the Huskies. She made all five of her long range attempts in the second half. Those included a pull-up in transition with 5:45 left that made it 66-60 and sent the crowd into a frenzy, as well as a dagger from the left corner that made the score 74-65 with 2:48 remaining and effectively sealed the victory.

“Those were big shots,” Ramsey said. “Those were just confident, ‘we need a bucket and I can do this.’”

Brace or no brace, Stutman played out of her mind in one of the biggest wins in school history.