Huge Run Lifts AU to Convincing Win | Schools

CLINTON, Iowa--With the regular season starting to wind down, the Ashford women's basketball team turned up the pressure Tuesday night, downing Iowa Wesleyan College, 62-47.Sophomore Quinn Rear led all scorers with 19 points and Gaby Ayon added another 14 for the Saints, who blitzed the Tigers with a suffocating full court press all game.  In turn, the press enabled the Saints to rattle off a 25-2 first half run that proved to be the game's deciding stretch.

"Our defense created a lot of our offense," Head Coach Amy Eagan said.  "We were able to do that with our press and getting some steals on their end.  On top of that, our energy was really good, and we got some early momentum with our press, which helped us all night."

The Saints took an early lead and never let go, opening the contest with a 13-3 run that was capped off by a layup from Ayon with 14:23 to play.  Iowa Wesleyan would answer with an 8-0 run of their own, and with 9:04 to play, the two team appeared to be in for a battle.

That is when the flood gates opened on both ends for the Saints. Rear opened the run for Ashford with a bucket in the lane and from there, the Saints never looked back.

When the dust settled at the end of the half, Ashford had things well in hand, leading 40-18 at the break.  AU wrapped up the half shooting 48.4% (15-for-31) from the field, forcing 13 Tiger turnovers that turned into 20 points.

Ashford would cool off in the second half shooting the ball, but not on the defensive end, maintaining a lead in the 20-point range until late in the game, cruising to the win.

The Saints finished the game shooting 38.3% (23-for-60), winning both the rebounding (38-25) and turnover (23-17) battles to improve to 11-14 on the year.  With the win, the Saints eclipsed their win total from last year and matched the program's highest win total since the 2007-08 season.

Jana Meister had 14 points for the Tigers, who fell to 7-15 on the year.

The Saints will have eight days off before they head out on the road on Wed., Feb. 6, when they journey to Grinnell, Iowa for a meeting with the Pioneers of Grinnell College.  Tip-off from Darby Gymnasium is set for 7:00 p.m.