The 2011-12 Ashland women’s basketball season has been one to remember. Currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, the team has won 31 straight games and shows no signs of slowing down. Over the past two weeks, the Eagles have won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Midwest Regional tournaments in Kates Gymnasium, earning a spot in the Elite Eight in San Antonio. They are three wins away from a National Championship.

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.

There are so many moments from Monday’s 78-65 win over Wisconsin-Parkside that I will remember for the rest of my life: Alyssa Miller grabbing two offensive rebounds and scoring on Ashland’s opening possession; Kari Daugherty draining her first four 3-point attempts in the first half; Jena Stutzman hustling to knock a ball off a Parkside player and out-of-bounds after a made basket; Daugherty making that ridiculous bank shot to take the lead; Mantkowski making the baseline jumper to widen the lead to six with 2:46 left; four different Eagles combining to hit 14 straight free throws in the final 1:18.

Perhaps the thing that I will remember most, however, is the atmosphere in Kates Gymnasium that night. The students had just returned from spring break, and they combined with what seemed like the entire rest of the community to create one of the largest crowds in the history of the ancient building.

“They were unbelievable, Daugherty said. “During warm-ups with like 30 minutes left, everyone was like, ‘this is more fans than we had in our first game of the season right now.’ It was incredible.”

There were 2,644 fans packed into Kates, almost all of them dressed in purple. They showed up early and did not leave until the net was cut. They brought signs with captions like, “Hoops she did it again,” “Teach me how to Dorner” and “Fear the Bird.” Most importantly, they brought noise and enthusiasm that is rarely seen at an Ashland sporting event.

Daugherty said it was better than anything she experienced while playing at Division I Dayton the past two years.

“Dayton’s crowds, they were good, but honestly it kind of took me back to high school games,” she said. “A gym, not too small but not like an arena, I mean that atmosphere is incredible. You get, I don’t know how many people we had there, but all screaming like that in such a small area, that has such a huge effect on how we play.”

As the clock wound down and everybody in the gym realized the game was in hand, everyone rose to their feet to show their appreciation.

After shaking hands, the team rushed to center court and began a circle of laughs, hugs and tears. As they always do (win or lose), the Eagles said a prayer of thanks. The crowd waited patiently for the huddle to break, and then erupted as the team continued to celebrate. On the emotional high of that moment, the Eagles might have flown to San Antonio right then and there.

For continued coverage of the Eagles as they make the trip to San Antonio and live tweets from the rest of the games, follow me on Twitter @ChrisBils.