Perfection: Ashland women's basketball team wins national title, finishes 37-0 season

Absolutely perfect.

That's how the Ashland University women's basketball team will remember the 2022-23 season. There's really no other way to look at it.

Ashland beat Minnesota Duluth 78-67 Saturday in Dallas to win its third NCAA Division II national championship. The win wrapped up a 37-0 season and made the Eagles the third Division II women's team to win at least three national titles.

This is a moment the Eagles waited more than a year to celebrate.

A regional semifinal loss to Walsh a year ago resulted in a rare early exit for Ashland. The Eagles regrouped and overcame every challenge this season. They included some close calls to Malone and Grand Valley State in the NCAA Tournament.

Head coach Kari Pickens achieved a milestone by becoming the first woman to win a Division II national title as a player, assistant coach and head coach. She played on Ashland's 2013 championship team and was on Robyn Fralick's staff in 2017 when the Eagles won their second title.

"I genuinely believe this team was hand-picked," Pickens said. "We could not have done it without the selflessness of each and every person.

"This team has been so incredibly special to me for their selflessness and how much they came together."

Annie Roshak scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Ashland. The 6-foot-1 senior forward out of North Canton hit four free throws in the final 31 seconds to help the Eagles close out Minnesota Duluth and become the first Division II team to win 37 games in a season.

"I just pray we were a light and people saw something different in us," Roshak said.

Zoe Miller finished with 16 points for Ashland. Hallie Heidemann scored 11 points. Hayley Smith also had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Roshak was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Smith also was selected to the all-tournament team.

Roshak's 20 points came in a game she attempted just six field goals. She made five of them.

"Annie is a remarkable basketball player," Pickens said. "I'm really proud of her because she was on a team where we asked her to pretty much score 14 points a game. That was going to be what we needed from her, even though I think she's capable of scoring more.

"She was going to do what the team needed, and today was no different. ... She played fearlessly. She played like a senior who I'm very thankful has a graduate year left to come back."

Roshak's 14 first-half points helped the Eagles race out to a 40-22 lead at halftime.

A 15-0 second-quarter run helped the Eagles build their big lead. One stretch of the run came with Minnesota Duluth's Brooke Olson on the bench. The NCAA Division II Player of the Year picked up her third foul with 5:30 left in quarter and was held to four points in the first half.

"That second quarter run was huge for us," Roshak said. "That momentum going into halftime and just being able to have that big a lead.

"Just sticking to our principles is what really helped us in that run."

Ashland carried a 59-40 lead into the fourth quarter. The Eagles appeared in great shape, but the Bulldogs still had one more run left in them.

An Olson 3-pointer with 1:35 left cut Ashland's lead to 68-61. Ella Gilberton's 3 with 41 seconds left kept Minnesota-Duluth in it at 72-65.

Four straight missed shots sealed the Bulldogs' fate. Roshak and Heidemann combined to hit six free throws in the final 42 seconds to wrap up the Eagles' title.

Olson finished with a game-high 26 points. She scored her 150th point of the tournament in the third quarter. That broke the Division II postseason record set by Franklin Pierce's Johannah Leedham in 2009.

While Olson achieved a personal milestone, Ashland ended up with the biggest prize of the postseason. Among the three championships she has been a part of, it was wasn't difficult for Pickens to say which one meant the most.

"I loved the other teams as well, but this team has been so incredibly special to me," Pickens said. " ... This one tops the cake for me."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Annie Roshak leads Ashland women's basketball to third NCAA title