Photo by Seth Nichols

(NORTH CANTON, Ohio) – Walsh pulled off the biggest upset in recent memory with a 69-58 victory over previously unbeaten No. 3 Ashland at Alumni Arena Thursday evening. It's the highest-ranked opponent the Cavaliers (14-7, 11-5) have defeated since the 2010-11 season when they went to the NAIA Division II semifinals. The win ended the Eagles' (21-1, 15-1) 25-game regular season win streak. 

The Cavaliers defense came through again and gave Ashland problems throughout the night as the visitors committed 18 turnovers, 13 of which were stolen possessions. Walsh also limited the Eagles to a 32.8 percent success rate from the field.

"I'm really proud of the effort our kids gave on the defensive end tonight," said Head Coach Maria Marchesano after the game. "We threw quite a few adjustments at them and [the Cavaliers] really executed." 

The turnover bug also hit Walsh today, but the Cavs shot 46.4 percent from the field and led for a majority of the game. Ashland scored the opening basket on a McKenzie Miller layup, but a put-back by Kelsey Funderburgh tied the game for Walsh and the Cavs never trailed again.

Brooklyn Wooten also helped set the tone of the game on the offensive end with three first quarter treys. All of them came during a stretch where Walsh scored 3-pointers on four straight possessions with Funderburgh hitting the other.

Funderburgh finished with a game-high 23 points with six 3-pointers, while Wooten was just a basket behind her with a season-high 21 points and three treys of her own.

Walsh started to separate itself from the Eagles early in the third quarter as Funderburgh caught fire with the first nine points on a 15-0 run. They came on three separate plays as she scored a layup coupled with a free throw sandwiched around a pair of 3-pointers. A pair of Jalynn Graham baskets and a Brittni Clopton score capped the run.

Elsewhere, Clopton played huge off the glass and matched a career-high 15 rebounds. Graham also came up big defensively with five steals.

"Brooklyn was very efficient tonight as she she 7-for-10, didn't miss a single free throw and added five assists," commented Marchesano. "On top of that she added nine rebounds. This would have to be the best all-around game we've seen out of her. "Kelsey and Brittni were also huge – Kelsey hit some big shots and Brittni came up with 15 rebounds. Everyone stepped up tonight, and I'm really proud of our kids."

Walsh remains third in the South Division and sixth overall in the conference with everyone else ahead of them winning, but the Cavs did gain a game between them and fourth-place Findlay. Walsh will now try to make it a perfect week when it heads to Painesville to take on Lake Erie on Saturday. Tip-off with the Storm is set for 1 p.m.