Glenville State women fall in Final Four to Ashland, 76-67

Glenville State, down 62-49 with 7:45 left, used a 14-3 run to close within two at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter but missed on six of its last seven field goal attempts.

Breanna Campbell led the Pioneers with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Mickayla Perdue put in 20 points, but no one else scored more than eight.

Ashland, out of Ohio, had four balanced scorers in double figures: Annie Roshak (17 plus 10 rebounds), Savaya Brockington (16 with six assists and five rebounds), Hayley Smith (15 with 16 rebounds) and Hallie Heidemann (13 with eight rebounds and eight assists).

Ashland had a 48-30 advantage in points in the paint and were in front for 34:55 of a possible 40 minutes, though there were four ties and six lead changes.

It was a one-possession game for the entire first quarter with the Pioneers holding edges of 5-4, 8-6, 10-8 and 14-12, but the Eagles scored the final five points of the first quarter on a Heidemann 3 and Macy Spielman layup to lead 17-14; they wouldn’t trail again.

Ashland extended the streak to 11 on 3s by Heidemann and Maddie Maloney to go up 23-14 at the 8:24 mark of the second quarter.

The Pioneers countered with a 6-2 run as Hya Haywood made a layup and Campbell and Cabria Lewis both hit pairs of free throws to trail 25-20 with 6:47 on the clock.

But the Eagles responded with a 12-2 run as Roshak scored four to go up 37-22; it was 41-27 at the half.

Ashland boosted the lead to 20 with the first six points out of the second half.

Down 49-30, the Pioneers fought back, scoring the next six, two each from Campbell, Perdue and Kamiyah Lyons, then, after an exchange of baskets, Campbell went on a personal 6-0 run to close the quarter.

It was a nine-point affair, 53-44, going to the fourth.

A 3 by Heidemann and a layup by Roshak gave Ashland its largest lead of the fourth quarter, 62-49, with 7:45 to go.

But Campbell scored six points in a span of 2:48, with a Perdue layup sprinkled in, to get the Pioneers within three, then a Zoe Miller layup for Ashland was answered by a Haywood 3: 64-61.

Brockington hit a free throw with 2:51 left and Perdue answered with a jumper, but that 65-63 scoreline was as close as Glenville State could get.

Ashland faces Minnesota Duluth on April 1 at 3 p.m. in Dallas for the national title.