After sitting out of basketball for a season, Lipscomb redshirt sophomore Ashley Southern is back on the court and making a statement.
Originally from Tuscumbia, Ala., Southern began playing recreation basketball at the age of 6 at the request of her best friend.
“She begged me to play with her, so I played. Her dad was the coach,” Southern said. “I was terrible. I scored for the other team.”
Southern has come a long way since those rec ball days. She played basketball and volleyball in high school and received many accolades including three-time All-State, All-County, All-Area and All-Region selections for basketball. Southern also scored 2,267 career points in high school.
Southern received the Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Week award earlier this season and is already a top scorer and rebounder for the Lady Bisons, with more than 50 points and 48 rebounds. Even so, Southern doesn’t like to talk about her individual achievements.
“I’m not one of these people that really cares about personal awards,” Southern said. “Like, honestly, I just want us to win some games.”
Southern is a redshirt sophomore because she transferred into Lipscomb from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last season, and, through NCAA rules, was required to sit out for the 2012-13 season.
“When I got to Chattanooga it was just a whole different atmosphere than what I thought it was going to be, and I wasn’t happy,” Southern said. “Lipscomb recruited me out of high school, so I got in touch with Coach Bennett and decided to transfer here.”
Former Lady Bison head coach Frank Bennett originally recruited Southern to play at Lipscomb, and she is pleased that she finally took that direction and came to school here.
“I love the fact that it’s a Christian university, and I’m around people that I can relate to every day,” Southern said.
Southern also says she is comfortable on the court.
“I like the offense better. We run a motion offense, and I think it fits the style of play I do better,” Southern said about the team.
She also says neither fans nor players should be concerned at the bumpy start of the season. The Lady Bisons are currently 0-3.
“I know we’re still struggling on winning, but we’re meeting like the process goals of what [Coach Greg Brown] wants us to do, so we’re getting better after every game,” Southern said.
After all, a team is not judged by how it starts. It’s how it finishes that matters most.
“We just want to be there by conference,” she said. “Conference is ultimately all that matters.”
Check out the Lady Bisons’ schedule at lipscombsports.com.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics