A public relations email glided into every student’s mailbox March 22 around 3:53 p.m. Instead of notifying students that parking lots were going to be closed or an emergency test system was being done, the email stated:

The Ashland University women’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game and will play Shaw (N.C.) in the final game Friday at 8 p.m. EST….This will be the Eagles first ever appearance in the national championship game.

The email went on to give locations where students could gather to watch the final Friday game: Hawkins-Conard Student Center Auditorium, Student Center Eagles’ Nest, Schar College of Education Room 103, and Kates Gymnasium.

If a student couldn’t find somewhere to watch the game, it would be entirely his or her own fault.

Administration, faculty and staff members, including president Dr. Fred Finks and his wife, Holly, were already down in San Antonio. They had VIP All Access passes. They watched the team practice and they sat behind the bench every time the girls stepped foot on the court. During the AU vs. Bentley game, Finks had stood up and reached his arm out over the girls timeout huddle, taking a picture of them with his phone. It was an opportunity to capture a moment, a moment AU had never seen before in women’s or men’s basketball. A moment in history.

Game day

Friday morning, no one could talk about anything but AU women’s basketball (AUWBB). At 5:30 a.m., the very first game day tweet went out.“Wow! I’m so excited for the #AUWBB game tonight! I don’t know how I’ll sleep when I get off work.” – @ItsEasyBeinEasy

The next came in at 7: 19 a.m.

“Today is the day. #GoEagles #AUWBB.” – @HostetlerEmma

The last #AUWBB tweet sent out on March 23 was sent out at 11:46 p.m.

“Wow #AUWBB thanks for letting us all fly tonight…keep flying ladies :).” – @jgilcreast315.

612 tweets about #AUWBB went out in less than 19 hours. A tweet about the Lady Eagles was posted every 2 minutes on average. And this doesn’t count the tweets about the game that did not have a hash tag, or the ones posted after the clock hit midnight. #AUWBB was actually trending on Twitter. It wasn’t just the players warming up. Ashland University was ready to go.

Pregame

All throughout Kilhefner, students gathered to watch the championship game on TV. In one crowded Kilhefner dorm room, students sat ready to cheer on the Eagles. No one was multitasking; every eye was on the game and the game alone.

Fans packed the student center auditorium, filling about three-fourths of the seats to watch the game on the large projection screen. The group consisted of both AU students and families with young children, as well as other loyal Eagles fans from the community.

The fans in San Antonio had shopped around on their Thursday off, and had found purple and gold sombreros, purple sparkly fedoras, and even light-up cowboy hats. Black warrior marks were on several fans cheeks, and younger siblings had their faces painted in purple and gold; one young man even looked like an Eagle.

Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” began to play as the Lady Eagles huddled at the back of the gym, talking, praying and pumping each other up before they ran out to warm-up. Head Coach Sue Ramsey easily walked to the bench and sat down, looking relaxed and ready. The crowd went crazy as soon as they saw her. But that was nothing compared to the noise when the girls finally ran out on the court.

After warm-ups and running back to the locker room, the girls appeared in their white uniforms, prepared to play the last 40 minutes of this season’s basketball. The music was cut, and in the moment of silence before the announcer began talking, a man’s voice bellowed throughout the gym, “Gooooo Ashlaaanddd!”

Director of Residence Life Cat Geletka yelled, “Let’s go!” over the heads of the AU ladies sitting on the bench as they waited to be announced onto the court. Senior Jena Stutzman was announced first, sophomore Alyssa Miller next. As Lindsay Tenyak was announced, she looked around at the group of girls standing around her and screamed, “Let’s go!” before jumping off the bench and running to shake the hand of Shaw’s head coach. The crowd erupted as junior All-American forward Kari Daugherty was announced.

“Bears hibernate, eagles soar,” was painted on a poster that waved back and forth behind the girl’s bench.

Back home, spectators cheered and clapped at Daugherty’s appearance as well. When the camera panned over to Finks, the response was equally excited. As the tip-off approached, the group enthusiastically joined in for an “A-U, A-U” chant.

The bleachers in San Antonio shook as fans stomped their feet in approval and support as the girls gathered together for their last pre-game huddle.

First half

Once the game began, loud shouting and whistling rang through the student center auditorium as Ashland gained the lead. The closeness of the crowd in the relatively compact room made the cheering even louder. Familiar shouts, such as, “What? No! Are you serious?” could be heard as the refs made a call unfavorable to the Eagles. “Go Eagles! Come on Eagles! Nice! Yes!” was likewise chanted as the team continued to dual with the Shaw Lady Bears.

In San Antonio, the Lady Bears jumped out to an early lead, but the Eagles continued to respond, bringing it close, tying it up, leading, trailing; an intense ballet of basketball. Ramsey continued to nod encouragingly as the girls looked to her for guidance.

The girls stayed calm and followed directions. At the first media time out, it was 10-9 Bears, and Ramsey nodded as the girls ran in. She was proud. They could handle this.

A sign, “We (heart) our Eagles,” bounced over the AU huddle as they sat down to discuss what they had just learned about Shaw. “Isaiah 40:31” bounced next to it, a clear and powerful sign of what this Eagle team had based their whole season off of. Faith. Belief. And the power of something greater.

As play resumes, a Shaw player runs into Stutzman, and as Stutzman began to fall, the girl reached out to grab her hand. Stutzman took is and pulled herself back up. It was a moment of respect that summed up the first half of the game. This was the team AU should be playing. Both teams deserved to be here.

Halftime

Back in Ashland, a little boy ran back and forth in the student center auditorium during commercial breaks and halftime, leading the crowd in “A-U” chants and “The Wave.” They laughed as a TV announcer pointed out Ramsey’s purple cowboy boots.

Second half

In Kilhefner, the tension rose as halftime ended and the score drew closer and closer between the two teams. With every Shaw foul, there was a sigh of relief. Even during the commercials, instead of changing the channel, an entirely different TV was set up to watch the other March Madness games on TV. The flashback button wouldn’t suffice. No one wanted to miss a thing.

Every cheer grew louder. One by one, passersby began to wander into the Kilhefner dorm room, until finally there were 16 friends and strangers, all joined for these last 20 minutes.

In the student center auditorium, the crowd gasped as Shaw mounted their comeback. The atmosphere became even more intense as Shaw tied the game. Fans cheered, “Defense,” “Rebound!” and “Let’s go Eagles,” as they watched the game with excited anticipation. When the Eagles scored or snatched a rebound, the fans celebrated by clapping, fist-pumping, high-fiving their neighbors and jumping out of their seats.

In San Antonio, the crowd grew deadly quiet as the seconds ticked down to zero. The ladies were down by three. Shaw was playing mad defense. Provost Frank Pettigrew ran his hands through his grey hair. Pettigrew and Finks stood as a timeout was called.

Back in Kilhefner, one student had to lie down on the floor to control his intensity.

The shot

And then Stutzman had the ball in her hands, stepped back, her heel almost on the court’s logo, and threw up a three that swished through the net without a sound.

It was the only thing that was quiet.

In the dorm room, the sound of overtime screams could have knocked an onlooker off their feet. The auditorium crowd erupted. The bleachers in San Antonio shook as AU fans screamed, jumping up and down uncontrollably.

By the time one student tried to type in a tweet, 30 other ones had already popped up.

“HOLY THREEEEEE #AUWBB” – @ktnago13

“JENNA STUTZMAN WITH THE THREE TO TIE IT ARE YOU KIDDING ME! #AUWBB #trophychasing” – @Linz_1126

“Let’s Go AU!!!!!! she just hit a NBA range three to send it to overtime!!!!!! #AWUWBB” – @Thadius_Curly24

“That 3-point shot was more beautiful than baby Jesus’ face #AUWBB” – @HearCassieLaugh

And then, as the Lady Eagles fought a slowly losing battle, the support continued.

“OVER THE BACK!?! #AUWBB” – @yesitstim

“Do you believe in miracles! #AUWBB” – @AustinArnol

“It was such an honor to support such an amazing team! Couldn’t be more proud of the AU Girls Basketball Team. #AUWBB” – @d_langg

“We didn’t win but #AUWBB deserves so much!! #EAGLENATION!!!!!!” – @sethswaggerty

“Congratulations to #AUWBB for going the distance. We will get them in Rocky II” – @yesitstim

“I feel like Jena Stutzman’s shot alone was worth a national championship #baller #AUWBB” – @Schutorius

“National runner up #AUWBB great season girls! Were all proud of u way to represent.” – @DingleBerry68

A magical season

So many students were tweeting about the women’s team, Twitter could have written it’s own article on the game. School spirit and pride stayed high. No one asked for more, no one could ask for more. The Lady Eagles laid it all on the line, and they were welcomed home by a community that had grown closer together because of them. For not winning, we all sure walked away feeling good.