About two years ago, Ashland senior guard Jena Stutzman made a drastic decision. Although she had just put in two solid years as a 3-point specialist on Division I Kent State’s women’s basketball team, she was not happy.

“Kent just really wasn’t the place for me,” Stutzman said. “I just wasn’t happy with anything. It wasn’t so much the playing time, it wasn’t anything like that, it was just I knew I needed to make a change. I didn’t really enjoy playing the game.”

After praying a lot and talking to coaches at several schools, including Ohio Dominican and Northern Kentucky, Stutzman settled on Ashland as the place where she would continue her career. As her senior season winds down, it has become clear that she made the right decision.

Stutzman has been a key component on the best women’s basketball team in AU history. The Eagles have won 33 straight games and are currently in San Antonio playing for the national championship. For her, however, the decision was about more than just basketball.

“It’s just a better place for me,” she said. “The campus, the coaches, the team, just everything about it, I enjoy it. I love playing the game of basketball and just being on a team with a Christian coach and Christian teammates and everything like that makes the experience even better.”

Though her college career will have something that resembles a storybook ending, the last two years have been far from perfect. Last year, in the midst of an outstanding junior season, Stutzman went down with a season-ending knee injury. The team ended up losing in the conference championship game and missed out on a trip to the NCAA tournament.

“Obviously, right after it happened I was really upset,” she said. “It was just kind of one of those things like, ‘why? Why does this have to happen?’ I just had to go into everything with a good attitude. I learned a lot from it and I grew a lot spiritually. I know God has a reason for everything.”

Last summer, as she prepared for her last go-round in a purple and gold uniform, she received a call from a familiar face. Kari Daugherty, who had grown up playing with Stutzman in summer competitions, was looking to transfer from Division I Dayton. She called Stutzman for guidance.

Daugherty chose Ashland for many of the same reasons that Stutzman did. The two have become one of the best tandems in Division II basketball and have renewed and strengthened their old friendship.

“We’ve become better friends now that she’s at Ashland,” Stutzman said. “She’s taught me a lot and I just enjoy being around her.”

Because the Eagles’ regular season record allowed them to host both the conference and NCAA Midwest Regional tournaments, Stutzman was able to play six games in Kates Gymnasium after her “Senior Day” on Feb. 18.

The last of those games was the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship against Wisconsin-Parkside on March 12. The Eagles won 78-65 to move on to the Elite Eight in San Antonio and Stutzman was the first to raise the trophy to cheers from over 2600 packed inside Kates. It is a moment that she will never forget.

“I think it was just a moment of being rewarded,” she said. “This is what you work hard for. This is why we put in hours during the summer. This is why we shot 30,000 shots this summer. It’s the reason that everybody plays for.”

As of March 20, Stutzman is averaging 14.6 points, three assists and 3.1 rebounds. She is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and 87.3 percent from the foul line. During the Eagles’ NCAA tournament run, she has averaged 19 points per game.

“It’s just been such a special year, and I feel so blessed to have had this be my last year playing,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for a better senior year.”