Models can come in many different varieties. Models can be classic cars, people or a characteristic. Daiva Gerbec has been the model of consistency for the Eagle basketball team in recent weeks and this past week was no different, as she posted two more double-doubles and a career-high in points against the Wayne State Warriors.

 

Wayne State

The Eagles flew to an easy 81-61 win Thursday night against the Warriors at Kates Gymnasium. Gerbec paced the Eagles with a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds; her ninth double-double of the season.

Gerbec and the rest of the Eagles controlled the entire game thanks to interior scoring, as the Eagles outscored the Warriors 50-16 in the paint and also had the advantage on second chance points, 18-8.

Four other Eagles scored in double figures as sophomore forward Beth Mantkowski had 15 points and eight rebounds in her first start of the season. Senior Rachel Poorman and sophomore Kaci Finfrock each scored 12 and junior guard Jena Stutzman contributed 10.

The first half was a close-knit affair as the Eagles struggled to pull away from Wayne State early. The Warriors jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first minute, but after Mantkowski tied the game at 6-6, Ashland’s offense began to click. The Eagles ended the half on a 16-6 run as Mantkowski and Poorman each had six points while Gerbec and Stutzman had two in the last 5:47. Mantkowski finished the first half going 6-for-7 from the field, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds while Gerbec finished the half with eight points and four boards.

The second half was all Ashland as the Eagles began the second stanza on a 9-3 run, giving the Eagles a 53-35 lead that the Warriors would not be able to overcome. The Eagles shot 47 percent from the field in the second half and held Wayne State to just 29 percent from the floor. Wayne State had trouble keeping up with the Eagles’ top-ranked offense in the conference due to their eight-woman roster. The Eagles had 10 fast break points in the contest and at the 1:04 mark in the second half, enjoying a 25 point lead. Ashland out-rebounded the Warriors 39-33 and 14-13 in offensive rebounds.

Gerbec had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the second half as she shot 8-for-12 from the floor. Alyssa Miller failed to score in the game but had a team-high six assists.

Wayne State was led by Phaebre Colbert and Chelsea Kouri’s 13 points. Amelia Davis, who made the game-winning shot against the Eagles in their last meeting, had 11 points and Paige Sickmiller pitched in 10.

Findlay

Some losses are tougher to swallow than others. The Eagles suffered two losses Saturday against the Findlay Oilers at Kates Gymnasium, as the team fell 81-73 in overtime and two games back in the GLIAC South. The team also lost Jena Stutzman to an injury in the first half.

The Eagles and Oilers had a back-and-forth affair throughout the contest Saturday as both teams enjoyed leads of nine or more points at one point in the second half. The Eagles had a 51-42 lead with 11:39 left in regulation but Findlay overcame that with a 20-2 run over the next five minutes thanks to a trap defense implemented by Oiler head coach Kate Cummings.

Ashland didn’t throw in the towel yet as the Eagles found a way to beat the trap. The Eagles went on an 11-0 run to put Ashland back on top 64-62 with 53 seconds remaining.

Laura Bardall, the Oilers leading scorer, was fouled after getting an offensive rebound with 11 seconds left. After making the first shot, the second one dropped as well, but she crossed the foul line before the ball fell through, negating the make and giving the Eagles a one-point lead. Poorman was fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass and made both of her attempts, giving the Eagles an important three-point advantage.

Clare Aubry brought the Oilers back to life with a successful three-point field goal with 1.2 seconds left in regulation. The Eagles elected to not foul on the possession and Aubry made them pay.

Aubry made the Eagles pay in the overtime period as well, as she took and made all three of the Oilers shots from the field. Findlay outscored Ashland in the overtime frame 15-7, winning the game 81-73. It was the second straight game between the two rivals where the game went into overtime, as Findlay won the first meeting 80-77 in double overtime.

Aubry finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-for-17 shooting and 5-for-9 from the three-point line. She also had four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kayla Brown had 20 points and three rebounds to help the Oilers improve to 9-2 in conference play.

For the Eagles, the loss of Stutzman hurt. In the 10 minutes Stutzman played, they turned the ball over just three times but committed 20 turnovers in the final 35 minutes.

Lindsey Tenyak led the Eagles with 14 points and six rebounds off the bench and Alyssa Miller had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Gerbec recorded her sixth straight double-double and her fourth career double-double in four career games against Findlay. Mantkowski finished the game with 11.

“Our team showed a lot of heart and I was very proud of the way they responded,” an emotional Sue Ramsey said. “We now have to find a way to put all of this together and don’t get me wrong, there’s no quit on this team.”

As for the loss of Stutzman, the Eagles lose their top scorer and leader in the backcourt. The transfer from Kent State came into the Findlay affair averaging 17 points per game and was second on the team in assists.

“The way she [Stutzman] went down was very scary, but our team responded very well,” Ramsey said. “We responded with two freshmen and three sophomores running the show, and I thought we could’ve gotten it done in regulation.”

The Eagles fell to 12-6 on the season and 7-4 in the GLIAC. The Eagles next host the Ohio Dominican Panthers at Kates Gymnasium Thursday before traveling to Tiffin Saturday. Ramsey knows her team has an uphill battle, but her confidence in their ability has not faltered.

“What we have inside is more than what we put on the court every day,” Ramsey said. “What we have inside of us is something I’ll take any day.”