Williams leads MC girls
LEWISTOWN – Ashleigh Williams was the unquestioned leader of the Mifflin County girls basketball team during the 2013-14 season.
The senior led the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game, and came up big in the clutch throughout the season as the Huskies finished the year 11-11 and earned a berth in the District 6 Class AAAA playoffs.
Her hard-nosed game, toughness and leadership earned Williams the 2014 Jenna Feathers Award, presented Tuesday night at Mifflin County High School.
“I’m pretty excited. Having been the runnerup the last couple of years it feels good to finally win,” Williams said. “I’d like to thank Steve and Sue (Feathers) for making the opportunity possible. It feels great to win such an award.”
Williams capped off a stellar career with 1,295 points, making her the all-time leading scorer in the brief three-year history of Mifflin County High School. Now she’ll make the transition to the college game playing for Dickenson.
“I can be proud about this season. It was pretty good for me. The last couple of seasons I kept progressing and progressing,” Williams said. “Hopefully, in college the next few years I can keep doing that and improve each and every year. I’m excited and nervous about continuing my career at Dickenson. I’ll definitely work hard in the offseason to prepare myself for the college game.”
Mifflin County girls basketball coach Roger Herto said Williams’ real strength is her ability to take chances and not let fear stop her.
“Ashleigh’s best quality to me is not how many points she scores, not the many great passes she makes, but the fact that she’s not afraid to fail,” Herto said. “She lets it all hang out and puts it all on the line. You try to encourage kids coming up not to hide or be afraid of making a mistake. Ashleigh is the epitome of that. I really admire her.
“There were numerous times this year when nothing was working and we just gave her the ball and got out of her way. We were asking her to create plays that weren’t there and she did. Dickenson has gotten themselves, in my opinion, a steal. I wish her all the best.”
Jessa Wright finished in second with Rebeka Knable taking third.
The Jenna Feathers Award is given out annually by Merf Radio to Mifflin County’s top girls basketball player. The award is voted on by local sports media, including The Sentinel. The award is named after former Lewistown player Jenna Feathers.