Ashland head women’s basketball coach Sue Ramsey knows how hard it is to win a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament crown. In 17 seasons at the helm for the Eagles, Ramsey has never won one. In fact, no Ashland (women’s or men’s) basketball squad has ever cut down the net following a GLIAC title game.

That changed Sunday when Ashland pulled away in the second half to beat Ferris State 66-50 at Kates Gymnasium.

“It’s just so nice to be able to give this back and have the community celebrate,” Ramsey said. “There were a lot of hugs out there today; it was a lot of fun.”

Ferris State jumped out to an 8-3 lead, causing Ramsey to use her first timeout just 3:17 into the game.

Senior guard Jena Stutzman started right where she left off Saturday, scoring eight of the Eagles’ first 11 points to ensure that the score stayed close.

Sophomore forward Ashley Dorner drilled two jump shots in a row, the second of which pulled Ashland within one at 16-15 with 7:02 left in the first half. Junior forward Kari Daugherty then caught fire. She scored her first five points of the game in less than a minute to spark a 9-2 run that put the Eagles up 26-18.

The Bulldogs made a run of their own to pull within one, but two free throws by Daugherty gave Ashland a 30-27 lead at the break.

Though the Eagles led at halftime, they were less than pleased with their first half performance. Ferris State had 12 more rebounds (22-10) than Ashland in the first half. Daugherty, who averages 13.6 rebounds, grabbed just three in the first half.

“I knew going into halftime I wasn’t rebounding very well,” Daugherty said. “In the back of my head I was like, ‘Man, my mom’s going to be mad at me.’”

Daugherty and the rest of the team pleased more than just their mothers with the way they played in the second half.

“I think we just were so unsatisfied with how we played the first half that we came out and we were like, ‘we’re not gonna lose this,’” Stutzman said. “It was so cool because the second half it was everybody hitting big shots.”

Tenyak set the tone when she ripped an offensive rebound away from a Ferris State defender and was fouled as she made a layup when the ball came back to her on a pass from Stutzman.

Daugherty spun through the lane and scored off the glass. Tenyak took a dribble to set her feet and drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner. Sophomore guard Alyssa Miller drove hard to the basket for a layup. Dorner made a tough fade away jumper. Junior forward Beth Mantkowski drilled a 16-foot jump shot.

All were a part of a 20-7 run over a span of six minutes that saw Ashland’s lead climb to 18 with 10:17 remaining. With the outcome basically in hand, the crowd used the last ten minutes of the game to show its support for a team that has now won 28 straight games.

“Playing in Kates Gymnasium is just awesome,” Ramsey said. “I mean, total chills when it got near the end and people knew we had it and just kept standing up and cheering and screaming.”

Daugherty led the Eagles with 17 points and 17 rebounds and was named the tournament MVP. Stutzman, who finished with 14 points and five assists, and Miller (six points, four assists) were named to the all-tournament team.

Tenyak had 14 points and five rebounds and Dorner also reached double digits, scoring 11.

All 16 Ashland players and coaches were recognized at center court following the game and got to cut down a portion of the net.

“I’ve done this a long time – 33 years – and I have never experienced anything like this in my life,” Ramsey said. “It’s joy, it’s beautiful basketball and I just try to stay out of the way most of the time and let them do their thing.”

Nikki Arner led the Bulldogs with 13 points and seven rebounds. Christina Branch (eight points, nine rebounds) and Sarah DeShone (nine points, five assists) were all-tournament selections along with Michigan Tech’s Lindsey Lindstrom.

The Eagles have four days off before they play again, 6 p.m. Friday against Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament champion Maryville (19-11) in the first round of the Division II NCAA Tournament. Ashland will play host to eight teams from the Midwest Region, with games being played Friday, Saturday and Monday. The winner of Monday’s game will earn a spot in the Elite Eight in San Antonio.