WESTFIELD, Mass.  – The honors continue to roll in for Westfield State senior women's basketball guard Jen Ashton (Beverly/Beverly, Mass.).
 
In the last few days, Ashton has been named to the D3hoops.com All-Northeast region first team; the New England Women's Basketball Association All-Region first team, and was selected to play in the NEWBA senior all-star game.
 
"She's definitely been consistent all year," said Owls' head coach Andrea Bertini.  "She the best player I have coached, she's a good leader, the best practice player, the best passer, the best rebounding guard – she knows the game better than anyone I have coached.
 
Ashton led the Owls in scoring at 15.6 points per game, in assists with 5.5 per game, and steals with 3.8 per game. She will graduate as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 1,524 points (just two points shy of Amanda Braden Theriault's record), the all-time leader in steals with 440, and ranks second all-time in assists with 594.
 
"What's amazing is to think that after the first half of Jen's freshman year she has always been the player that our opponents have keyed on stopping, and she still finished with more than 1,500 points in her career," said Bertini.  "She has been remarkably durable, which is a testament to her off season workouts, her nutrition, how she prepares.  I don't think she ever missed a game, or even a practice due to injury, and she has been able to play a massive amount of minutes."
 
This year, Ashton led the MASCAC in assists, ranked 13^th in the nation in that category and 10^th in the nation in steals.
Players chosen to the D3hoops.com All-Region team are eligible for All-American selection. The All-American teams will be announced at the end of this week, in conjunction with the Division III men's and women's championships. This is the 14th year D3hoops.com has named an All-Region team and this year's All-America team will be the 18th annual All-American selections.

The New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) provides support for coaches from the New England Region. Membership in NEWBA is open to all Division III head coaches from the region who have a vested interest in the welfare of the organization. At the conclusion of each season, the NEWBA sponsors the Senior All-Star Classic and a slate of post season awards.
 
Ashton is one of 24 participants who were chosen for the NEWBA Senior All-Star Classic, to be held on Saturday, March 28, at Ainsworth Gym at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
 
"When you look at the sheer number of college teams in New England, and the success that the schools from the region have had in the NCAA tournament in recent years, it really speaks volumes about her talent and ability to be named to the first team on both teams as a player from Westfield State and the MASCAC," said Bertini.  "That's a lot of respect that is hard-earned and well-deserved for her and our program."
 
In her senior season, Ashton led the Owls to a 24-6 overall record.  The team was 12-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference regular season, and won a school-record 16 straight games at one point in the second semester.  The Owls were the top seed in the ECAC tournament and finished as the tournament runner up.