Many television viewers are aware that “sweeps week” occurs four times a year, one of those times in February. For the Ashland women’s basketball team, sweeps week came early, as the Eagles upset Grand Valley State, 55-54 Thursday, Feb. 10 and knocked off Ferris State Saturday, Feb. 12, 68-58.

 

Grand Valley State

The Eagles never trailed against the Lakers, a team ranked 23rd in the country, Thursday night, thanks in part to Liz Tyler’s career-high 21 points.

The Eagles’ victory was their first win in six tries against the Lakers, and with the men’s victory over Grand Valley, it was the first time Ashland has swept the Lakers since the 1999-2000 season.

The first half began quickly for the Eagles, as Ashland jumped out to a 20-3 advantage 10 minutes into the game. Grand Valley charged back, cutting the lead to 20-14, but Ashland managed to hold off the run and mount one of their own, finishing the half on a 10-4 run, giving them a 30-18 halftime advantage.

Despite only having three players score, the Eagles outscored and outplayed the Lakers in the first 20 minutes. Ashland shot 54 percent from the field, converting on 14-of-26 attempts, and outscored the Lakers in the paint, 20-8. Sophomore sensation, Daiva Gerbec, paced the Eagles with 14 points and six rebounds while seniors Rachel Poorman and Tyler each tallied eight points. The Eagles’ defense held Grand Valley to just 19 percent shooting in the first half.

The second half began much like the first half, as the Eagles scored the first five points of the frame, giving them a 35-17 lead. Grand Valley, though, would begin to slowly chip away at the lead and got it down to single digits at the 9:16 mark of the second half on a layup by Briauna Taylor. Taylor scorched the Eagles in the second half, scoring 20 of her game-high 26 in the second half and shot 9-of-13 from the field.

Ashland struggled in the second half against the suffocating Laker defense, as the Eagles scored just 25 points while shooting only 33 percent. Grand Valley also outrebounded the Eagles 20-8 in the second half and shot 54 percent from the field, but it was not enough, as Tyler’s two clutch free throws with six seconds left closed out the Eagles’ upset.

Tyler finished her night by shooting 8-for-14 from the field and also 4-of-5 from the foul line.

“We went with our big lineup after Rachel [Poorman] fouled out and put Liz at the three, and she came through for us,” head coach Sue Ramsey said. “I told her before the game, ‘This is your night so go get it’, and she did.”

Gerbec finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, ending a streak of eight consecutive double-doubles, and Alyssa Miller chipped in five points and a career-high seven assists. Ramsey feels her team is growing from the recent tight games.

“All the close games have given us a tremendous amount of experience,” Ramsey said. “I was so proud of them for staying together as a team.”

Ferris State

Remember the Miller Light commercial’s slogan, “It’s Miller Time”? Saturday afternoon in Kates Gymnasium was Miller Time; Alyssa Miller’s time, as she caught fire in the second half and helped the Eagles top the Bulldogs of Ferris State, 68-58.

Miller had a quiet first half, as she took just one shot from the field, a missed three-point attempt, but had three assists. The Eagles managed just 27 points in the opening 20 minutes despite shooting 50 percent from the field. Gerbec led Ashland with eight first half points and sophomore guard, Lindsay Tenyak pitched in seven. Ashland went to halftime leading, 27-23, as they held Ferris State in check, allowing them to shoot just 35 percent from the field.

Miller and the Eagles came out on fire in the second half from the three point line and from the field. The Eagles made 10 of their first 16 shots in the second half and finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and 58 percent from beyond the arc. Miller went 6-for-8 from the field in the second half, and 5-for-5 from the three point line. She finished with a career-high 17 points as well as five assists and two rebounds.

“I knew going into halftime they would switch to a zone and I needed to hit my open shots,” Miller said. “After losing Jena [Stutzman], everyone knew we had to step things up and we still want to become number one this season and make the GLIAC and NCAA tournaments.”

Gerbec finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, her 13th double-double of the season, and Tenyak and Mikaela Lengal each scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.

The Eagles improved their record to 15-7 overall and 10-5 in the GLIAC. Findlay fell to Ohio Dominican on Saturday, which means Ashland is now tied atop the GLIAC South with the Oilers as Ashland travels to GLIAC leader and nationally-ranked Michigan Tech’s house on Thursday.

The Eagles’ win wasn’t just a big one in the GLIAC, but it was a milestone for Ramsey, as she won her 250th career game at Ashland.

“This just goes to show that I’m old but I’m blessed to be at Ashland University,” Ramsey said about her achievement. “I’ve been here for 16 years and just want to make this university proud of what we do on and off the floor, and I’m so proud of these young ladies. They are great.”