ASHLAND – Kari Pickens wouldn’t say that her Ashland University women’s basketball team has been playing angry.
But the Eagles’ energy is noticeable.
AU, which has become an NCAA Division II powerhouse over the last 14 seasons, took a rare misstep Dec. 5 when it opened league play with a 69-58 loss at Northwood.
That defeat snapped a 44-game regular-season winning streak in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play for Ashland. Its opponents since that night have suffered the consequences.
Angry or not, the Eagles stretched their winning streak since that loss to 11 games on Thursday night, knocking off Hillsdale at Kates Gymnasium, 70-59, to move into sole possession of second place in the G-MAC.
Second place has become an increasingly rare spot to be in for AU (17-3, 9-1 G-MAC), which has played in four national championship games since 2012.
Pickens, now in her seventh season as Ashland’s head coach, watched her team rip through 10 straight victories by an average of nearly 30 points per game coming into Thursday.
She said that type of winning response has helped the 12th-ranked Eagles rediscover themselves in a way.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve been playing angry,” Pickens said. “Honestly, there was a little bit of a lack of belief after that Northwood game in terms of what we’re capable of. But I think that we’re starting to get that belief back.
“We know that we can be a national championship-contending team. We didn’t play like it early on, but I think as people have come back from injuries and we’ve figured out rotations a little bit more, we are starting to get there.”
Ashland lost its season-opening game to Northwest Missouri State – AU’s first 0-1 start in a decade – then fell to 4-2 a few weeks later in a 67-42 defeat at current No. 1-ranked Grand Valley State.
The loss at Northwood gave the Eagles a 6-3 overall record and was just their second-ever defeat in GMAC play since joining the league in 2021-22 (70-2 after Thursday’s win).
The ship has clearly been sailing in the right direction since that night.
Hillsdale (11-6, 8-2) entered Thursday riding an eight-game winning streak and was tied for second behind Malone (15-2, 9-0) in the GMAC with Ashland.
But the Eagles used their disciplined defense to plug up the Chargers, carrying a 37-23 lead into halftime.
“I don’t think it was our best game overall,” Pickens said, “but I am going to celebrate the fact that we came away with a really big win and we’re in second place in the G-MAC.
“It was a huge game for us and we’re going to be able to learn a lot from it.”
The critical stretch came in the second quarter. The Chargers pulled within 19-16 following a bucket from senior guard Lauren McDonald (game-high 23 points, 7 rebounds).
But the Eagles answered with a 13-0 run that included a trio of 3-pointers from three different players – all Hiland High School products – in an 80-second stretch.
Freshman guard Ashley Mullet (10 points) buried the first from the left wing, senior guard Morgan Yoder (9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) hit the next one from the right corner, then senior forward Zoe Miller (team-high 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) connected on the third one from straight away.
The Eagles were 0-for-10 from downtown in the first half without those three buckets, which kept Hillsdale at bay for the rest of the night.
“We just always talk about being confident in our shot, whether it’s going in or not; we can’t pass up a good shot,” said Miller, who moved into 23rd in career scoring in AU history (1,183 points).
“I feel like our team really stayed shot-ready tonight, even if it wasn’t falling, which really helps us in games to get energy and momentum.”
Miller’s senior teammate, 6-foot-1 forward Hayley Smith, did some climbing up the Ashland career lists Thursday as well.
A regular starter for AU’s 2023 undefeated national championship team, Smith pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds and tossed in 13 points in the victory over the Chargers.
The effort moved her past Gail Wasmus in the AU record books in both points (1,209, now 20th) and rebounds (855, now fifth).
“I didn’t really notice (the rebounding) too much,” Smith said. “We were kind of locked into what we were doing, and rebounds are controllable. Even though I had a decent amount, I felt like I still could have ended up with more.”
Hillsdale got within 39-33 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter following a 3-pointer from Annalise Pietrzyk (13 points). But AU used a 14-3 run from there behind points from five different players to spread the scoreboard back out.
The Eagles committed 18 turnovers in the game and were choppy from both 3-point range (8-for-27) and the free-throw line (8-for-15), but Smith helped them crush the Chargers on the glass (44-30).
Their defense carried things from there, as Ashland held Hillsdale 10 points below its scoring average (69.4 points per game). The visitors were just 20-for-56 from the field.
“Hillsdale’s a really good team and they have a really good record, so we knew we had to bring it from the jump,” said Smith, who entered the game second in the nation in rebounds for the season (206).
“We thought we could play a lot better than that, but we’re super happy we came out with a win, that we’re second in the G-MAC and we’re ready to keep rolling.”
The Eagles are back at home Saturday for another G-MAC contest, as Lake Erie (3-12, 0-9) comes to town. Ashland will be going for its 25th consecutive win against the Storm.