LACEY — Ashley Schow’s friends and family that made the short trek north to Marcus Pavilion for the Central Washington women’s basketball team’s 100-74 win over Saint Martin’s were subject to a familiar spectacle Thursday night.
Playing back in Thurston County for the first time since donning the Wildcat crimson and black, the former Tenino standout scored a collegiate career-high 18 points, capped by a shot clock-buzzer-beating 3-pointer with seconds remaining to break her previous high of 17, set back in November.
That’s par for the course for Schow, who has started all but three of CWU’s games this season as a freshman on a 20-6 squad.
“It’s super cool,” Schow said. “My parents have traveled to a couple games but it's nice to have some friends come as well. It's cool to have a fan section, because I don’t get that often in Ellensburg.
“I try to get a career-high every night, but it was pretty cool that happened here.”
Schow cashed in on two late clock 3-pointers, with the first coming at the end of the first half and the second clinching a career-high in the final moments of a blowout victory, the Wildcats’ 20th of the season.
When the freshman wasn’t cutting for open baskets in the paint, or pulling up in the midrange for contested jumpers, she was hitting late-clock daggers.
Her coach at Central, Randi Richardson-Thornley, wasn’t surprised at Schow’s career-high back in her home county.
“I know Ashley being the competitor that she is — that was not something that will intimidate her or that she’ll shy away from,” Richardson-Thornley said. “It’s going to be something that motivates and elevates her game. I’m not surprised at all.”
Though Schow has certainly gone through the typical growing pains that accompany being a freshman making the jump from high school hoops to Division II collegiate basketball, Richardson-Thornley has trusted her since Day 1 to help get games off on the right foot as a key role piece in the starting lineup.
So far, Schow has taken everything in stride on a team with big postseason aspirations.
“Ashley has a great skillset,” Richardson-Thornley said. “We love her length and she fits really well in our system … She’s done a fantastic job. To be a freshman, and be handed that big of a challenge right out of the gate, to be able to do what she has done, and for our team to achieve what it has, she’s been a massive part of that.”
And though her role as a freshman hasn’t typically seen her need to score in double figures, Schow took the opportunities that presented themselves to her Thursday night.
And the freshman from the Stone City is just getting started.
“I’m just trying to do my best and help my team out in any way I can,” Schow said. “There’s not a lot of athletes that come out of Tenino, so it’s pretty cool I get to be a part of the few.”
