Posted: Mar 01, 2011
Salem, Va. – Endicott senior women’s basketball player Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) has been named a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, presented to the nation’s top male and female NCAA Division III basketball players of the year.
The Jostens Trophy, created by the Rotary Club in Salem, Virginia, takes into account three vital characteristics: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. It models the Rotary International motto of “Service above Self” by recognizing those who truly fit the ideal of the well-rounded
Division III student-athlete. This year marks the 14th year the award has been presented.
Wright is the first Endicott basketball player to be named a finalist in school history. She has already been named TCCC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, First Team All-TCCC, and a member of the 2010-11 Capital One Academic All-District First Team.
A Criminal Justice major with a stellar 3.77 GPA, Wright has been on the Endicott Dean’s List every semester since her freshman year as well as a member of the Endicott Academic Varsity Club since 2008. She is a recipient of the Eklund Family Scholarship, a member of the Mortar Board Honor Society, and Vice-President of Alpha Phi Sigma. Wright has been involved with a variety of community service projects including the Hospice Walk, Clean Beach Sweep, Walk for Hawk, Hawk Holiday Store, Binky Patrol Blankets for Kids, and volunteering at the Cape Ann Food Pantry. Wright has also been committed to her desired profession by completing internships at the Essex County District Attorney’s Office in ECCAP, the Hillsborough County District Attorney’s Office and the Manchester Police Department.
On the court, Wright has led the Gulls into the ECAC Tournament as the \#3 seed with a 16-9 overall record. The guard has averaged 18.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.8 apg with 79 steals and 14 blocks on the year. She has shot 41.5% from the field including 37.3% from behind the three-point line and 84.3% on free throw attempts. Earlier in the season, Wright became the seventh Endicott women’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points and currently stands at 1,215.
Final ballots are due no later than March 8th with the winning schools being noticed by March 9th. The award presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 17th at the Salem Civic Center in conjuction with the Men’s Division III Championship being hosted in Salem, Virginia on March 18th-19th. The winners are chosen by a national committee that consists of college coaches, former athletes, college administrators and selected members of the media.
