Women's Basketball Defeats Ashland 79-72 - NU To Host G-MAC Semifinals/Finals Friday and Saturday

OVERVIEW – ASHLAND

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 79, Ashland Eagles 72

RECORDS: Northwood 24-5, Ashland 14-13

LOCATION: Riepma Arena – Midland, Mich.

RECAP: Top seeded Northwood women's basketball earns right to host G-MAC Tournament semifinals and championship with a 79-72 win over No. 8 seed Ashland Tuesday.

GAME STORY

• The opening quarter was tight – the largest lead for either side was four points.
• Northwood ended the opening quarter with a 20-18 lead.
• The Timberwolves used a 7-0 run midway through the second to go up 34-26 with 5:33 remaining in the half.
• Northwood ended the half with a 39-34 lead at the break.
• Ashland came out strong in the second half, scoring 12 of the first 14 points to go up 46-41 with 5:33 remaining in the third.
• The Timberwolves responded by controlling the rest of the period. NU went on a 16-2 run that propelled Northwood to a 57-50 lead heading to the fourth.
• Northwood pushed their lead to 12 early in the fourth, but Ashland did not go away. The Eagles got back to within six at 69-63 with under five minutes remaining.
• NU got the lead back up to 10 at 75-65 on he

GAME STATS

• FG PERCENTAGE: Ashland .469 (30-64), Northwood .459 (28-61)
• 3-PT PERCENTAGE: Ashland .412 (7-17), Northwood .400 (8-20)
• FREE THROW PERCENTAGE: Ashland .833 (5-6), Northwood .789 (15-19)
• REBOUNDS: Ashland 30 (10 offensive), Northwood 36 (12 offensive)
• ASSISTS/TURNOVERS: Ashland 12/11, Northwood 8/13

TOP NU PERFORMERS

• Lea Holmes: 19 points, seven rebounds, two blocks
• Maeve St. John: 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists
• Grace Isenhath: 10 points, 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from 3-point range
• Karie Keefer: Eight points, four rebounds
• Taryn Jackson: Seven points

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• Holmes now has 207 made field goals this season. She is the first Timberwolf to have 200 made field goals in a season. Holmes broke her own record for field goals in a season, which she set as a freshman last season (197).
• The Timberwolves' 24th win extended the program record for victories in a season. The 2008-09 team won 21 games for the old record.
• Northwood also extends school record for longest winning streak with their 14th straight win today. The old record was set in 1990-91 (10).
• This is the first time Northwood will host a conference tournament semifinals and finals in program history.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will host fourth-seeded Walsh Friday night (March 6) at 5:30 p.m. NU will also host sixth-seeded Findlay and No. 2 seed Malone at 7:30 p.m. The championship game will be Saturday at 3 p.m.