A new side from Division II will play national championship women’s basketball this year as the national game is set to take place between no. 1 seed Ashland University and no. 2 seed Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas.
Minnesota Duluth vs Ashland Women’s Basketball TV Channel
Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023
Start Time: 3:30 pm ET
TV Channel/Live Stream: OolaTV (Anywhere)
Talking about Ashland University’s first, no. 1 seed team has advanced to the national championship game for the first time since 2018 after defeating no. 5 defending champions Glenville State University (33-3) by 76-67 in the semi-finals, ending their 17-game unbeaten streak.
This year’s championship game will be the fifth for Ashland, who has won titles in 2013 and 2017 and will be looking to make this year count as well. They’re entering the title game with winning 36 games, which marks the fourth time the Eagles have won this amount of games. No other side in Division II women’s basketball program history has more than one such season.
In their semi-final win, Ashland shot 49.2% from the field and forced 15 turnovers. On the big stage, four players scored double-digit points. Annie Roshak scored the most, 17, and grabbed ten rebounds. Hayley Smith scored 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Savaya Brockington scored 16 points, while Hallie Heidemann 13. Heidemann was shy of a triple-double, adding eight rebounds and eight assists to her stats.
How To Watch Minnesota Duluth (UMD) vs Ashland Women’s Basketball Final Live Online
There is a UMD vs Ashland Women’s Basketball live streaming service that you can access easily to watch the Division II Women’s Basketball Final, if you are unable to see them on television. To access the streaming site just check out OolaTV
Following streaming services and TV channels will live stream the national championship game:
- OolaTV (anywhere)
- CBS Sports Network
- Paramount+
- DIRECTV
Minnesota Duluth vs Ashland Women’s Basketball Preview
Four of Ashland’s players are averaging points in double-figures, and the game against Minnesota will be a test for them as they’re a great defensive side that has allowed only 56.4 points per game to opponents. Ashland head coach Kari Pickens, who will be looking to become the first woman in Division II history to win the title as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, talked about her side and the title game:
“I’m thankful we have a week. Minnesota Duluth is a great team. It’s going to be a battle for us. But we have a good team. An enthusiastic team, so I’m excited about the challenge.”
“A lot of our turnovers were in the half-court. Savaya, she’s just a playmaker. She is a one-woman press break. They have 27 forced turnovers per game, and we were at 26. Our guards on the back side were mobile, and when we got in the half-court offense, we did a great job of getting high-percentage shots.”
On the other hand, Minnesota Duluth (32-3) has advanced to its program’s first-ever NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship after defeating no. 6 Catawba College (29-6) by 70-59 in Saint Joseph, Missouri.
In the semi-final, Minnesota got in foul trouble in the first half, but Olson scored 15 points in the first half. In the title game, the Eagles will again depend on Graduate student Brooke Olson who was honored with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year award at an Elite Eight banquet on Sunday in Saint Joseph, Missouri.
Olson is averaging 23.1 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. In her last two games, Elite Eight and Final Four rounds, she scored 15 and 34 points, respectively. Besides Olson, graduate Ella Gilbertson, a junior, is another consistent performer for Minnesota Duluth this season and is second on the list of top scorers (10.3 per game).
The 6-foot forward now has three back-to-back double-figure scoring games, including 14 in the semi-final win over Catawba. She has shot with a field goal of 48 percent and has a team-best 39 percent from 3-point range.
