The Ursuline Arrows (25-3) travelled to Ashland to take on the Eagles (30-1) in the first round of the Midwest Regional in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The Arrows overcame an early 19-point deficit to climb all the way back and grab the lead the late in the fourth quarter, but Ashland won 72-70 on a last-second shot.
Ursuline came in as the underdog eighth seed in the region, while Ashland was the number one seed.
Ashland had won 29 straight games on their home floor coming into the game.
For the first quarter, it looked like Ashland would continue their dominance at home, as the Eagles led Ursuline 23-12 after one.
The Arrows took over the momentum of the game late in the second quarter and had the Eagles playing back on their heels for the next two quarters. Ursuline brought it back to a three-point game heading into the fourth quarter.
Ursuline scratched and clawed their way to tie the game at 64, thanks to a big three-pointer from Camryn Hill with 2:09 to play. Andi Daugherty came right back to give the Eagles a 67-65 lead with 1:52 remaining.
Natalie Koenig hit a clutch layup to tie the game at 67 with 1:32 to play.
The next minute and a half of action was a whirlwind, as neither side could score for a minute, until Koenig made another pivotal layup with 32 seconds left to give Ursuline their first lead since the first two minutes of the game.
With the score at 69-67 in favor of Ursuline, Ashland’s star of the game, Daugherty struck again, knocking down a layup and drawing contact to get to the foul line.
Daugherty made the free throw to put Ashland up 70-69 with 14 seconds left.
Ursuline called timeout and would inbound the ball from half court. Erica Huber was able to draw a costly foul on Ashland, which sent Huber to the line for two free throws.
Huber split the pair, tying the game at 70 with 10 seconds to go.
Ashland came right back and, as usual, fed Daugherty, who hit yet another difficult layup to give Ashland the lead with only one second left.
Christiana Jefferson heaved up a prayer at the buzzer from beyond half court and it was no good.
The Arrows would fall 72-70.
It was a remarkable comeback from the Arrows, who seemed like they had little hope in the second quarter, down by 19. But the comeback is typical of their season, as the team never gave up in a game this season, and with their talented roster, you can never really count them out.
The slow start may have proven to be just a little too much to surmount for Ursuline against the #1 seed in the region. Ashland was also voted #5 in the nation in the Division II Coaches’ Poll.
Ursuline’s starting five provided balanced contributions, like they have all season, as Koenig led the team with 22 points, Laney Lewis, Huber, and Hill each scored 12, and Brigan Wymer scored eight.
The frontcourt duo of Lewis and Hill grabbed a combined 31 rebounds, as Lewis led the game with 18 boards.
It was a rare off night for the Arrows at the free throw line, who made 6-of-12 attempts, and if one or two more balls got friendly bounces off the rim, we could be talking about one of the biggest upsets in Division II tournament history.
But that’s the way it goes. Credit the Ashland Eagles. They’ve been superb all season, improving to 31-1.
Daugherty scored a game-high 24 points, grabbing 16 rebounds. The other star for Ashland was Laina Snyder, who scored 18 points and grabbed 15 boards.
It was a disappointing end to a phenomenal season for Ursuline, but with such a young core of players. Two of their starters are freshman (Wymer and Koenig). Hill is a sophomore. Lewis a redshirt sophomore. Huber is a junior. Jefferson is another freshman who has not been starting recently, but still plays significant minutes and runs the offense.
There are also some young contributors on the bench, who will only get better between now and next season.
The G-MAC Title and first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history were a great taste of what this team can accomplish, but if this core continues to grow together, they could make even more noise in the 2016-2017 season.
Losing in that fashion can’t be easy for a team so close to moving on to the next round, but I’m sure it will motivate the Arrows to work even harder between now and next season.
Congratulations to the Arrows on a fantastic season.
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