Box Score

No. 2 Ashland 77, Parkside 51
Ashland proved why they are ranked No. 2 in the country, and grabbed a hold Thursday night's game early. The Eagles won every quarter by five or more points and remain undefeated on the year. Parkside moves to 13-11 on the year and 10-6 in GLIAC play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers fell in a hole early and found themselves down 10-2 within three minutes of the game starting. The team responded by scoring on four of their next five possessions, and grabbing a 13-12 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter. The last five minutes of the frame didn't go as well, as Ashland outscored the Rangers 12-5 to take a 24-18 lead into the quarter break. Parkside once again responded early in the second quarter and brought the lead down to two after a three from senior Carolina Rahkonen with 7:50 left to play in the second. After that, the Eagle defense tightened up and held the Rangers to two made field goals in the remaining 7:50 of the half.
 
Already sitting on a 40-29 lead coming out of the half, Ashland turned up the intensity and continued to build. Parkside was outscored in the second half 37-22.

HEAR FROM COACH CONELY
"Really proud of our effort and execution in the first half", said second year head coach Jen Conely. "Thought we were really sharp offensively in the first half and did a great job screening and making the right reads. Unfortunately, we were cold and unable to hit shots in the second half. There were spurts when we got stops but we just couldn't knock down the shots when we needed to cut their momentum. Hats off to Ashland, they are really good. We need to make sure that we sustain 40 minutes of Parkside basketball against good teams."
 
A LOOK AT THE BOX SCORE
The Rangers were led by a pair of sophomores, Alyssa Nelson and Claire Jakaitis. Nelson finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds, while Jakaitis had 11 points to go with four rebounds. Ashland was led by standout Jodi Johnson, who scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out three assists.
 
The Green & White had a tough night from the floor, shooting 20-of-65 (30.8-percent), while Ashland shot 28-of-60 (46.7-percent). There was not much to separate the teams on long distance shooting, as Parkside went 8-of-27 (29.6-percent), while Ashland went 3-of-10 (30.0-percent). Both teams committed 17 turnovers, but Ashland won the rebounding battle (+24) and scored more points in the paint (+28).
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Rangers will finish their road-trip this weekend at Wayne State on Saturday, Feb. 15 at noon. Next week, the team will return home for a GLIAC showdown against Lake Superior State on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.for Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night, as well as Academic Achievement Night. Senior Day will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22 against Ferris State.