The Ashland University women's basketball team made their way home with some new hardware, beating Minnesota Duluth 78-67 in the NCAA DII National Championship game Saturday afternoon.
Fans of the team were at Ashland University Monday afternoon to give them a champion's homecoming - watch full video of their return below:
The Eagles end their season national champions after going 37-0 through the regular and postseason. Leading into the title game, the Eagles had beaten UT Tyler in the Elite Eight, advancing to the Final Four where they took on Glenville State.
In the championship game, Minnesota Duluth kept it close through the first quarter and into the second, but midway through the second, the Eagles pulled away with the game, asserting their dominance over the Bulldogs.
Leading the way for the Eagles was forward Annie Roshak, who scored 20 points with 13 rebounds, four assists and steal. Forward Zoe Miller put up 16 points while Hallie Heidemann scored 11 with a steal and a block.
Guard Savaya Brockington, who entered the game dealing with a foot injury, only played 16 minutes but scored eight points with three assists and a steal.
Head coach Kari Pickens entered the game with the goal to win for her team's sake—but with the win she made history herself Saturday.
Pickens is now the first woman in DII history to win a national championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. All of her wins came with the Ashland Eagles.
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The 2022-23 women's basketball team will soon hang a banner and add their year to the National Championship mural that resides on the wall at Kate's Gym on campus. The team joins those in 2013 and 2017 that also saw their seasons end in title wins.
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