March 3rd: ISE’s Ashley Williams wins two major academic honors and then wins an ACC tournament game
Did you have a good day yesterday? Probably not as good as ISE’s Ashley Williams. She received the Kay Yow Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards and headlined the All-ACC Women’s Basketball Academic Team. Then, she and the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Team went out and defeated Boston College in the second round of the ACC Tournament. “Ashley is an inspiring teammate. She excels in the classroom and on the court,” marvelled teammate and classmate Kaley Moser. “She works extremely hard at everything she does and always has enthusiasm.”
Williams is the eighth person to become a Kay Yow Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is, of course, named after the legendary Kay Yow who coached NC State’s women’s basketball team from 1975 to 2009. Among her many accomplishments, Yow is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and coached the U.S. women’s basketball team to Olympic gold in 1988. She also lead the Wolfpack to four ACC Championships.
Williams and teammate Jennifer Mathurin, join 21 others on this year’s All-ACC Women’s Basketball Academic Team. For Williams, this is her second time on the All-ACC squad having also earned this recognition last year. “Having Ashley, along with Kaley, in industrial engineering has been a great thing throughout my academic career,” confided Ashley Eli. “Not only is Ashley a good teammate but a good classmate as well. I’m so happy she made the All-Academic team and wish her the best in the future.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Williams and the NC State women’s basketball team went out and picked up their 20th win of the season that same night. The Wolfpack never trailed in the contest and defeated the Boston College Eagles 76-60 in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Last month, Williams earned a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America’s (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team (for more information, see Williams Hits 3’s and 3.92’s).
Williams, known for hitting three point shots, has also been hitting the books. Along with her impressive 3.92 GPA, Williams has made the Dean’s list every semester of her college career.
Williams is an inspirational story on the court. She started her career is a walk-on and worked her way up to a starter in her third-year.
Congratulations Ashley!