Redshirt senior Ashley Bolston has had quite an impact on the Viking Women's Basketball program since she burst on the scene as the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year her sophomore year.
 
That year, she also was named to the All-Big Sky Second Team and All-Tournament Team, and earned winter term All-Academic honors. She repeated those honors last season, a season when she was slowed by a hip injury.
 
And this season…well, Bolston appears poised to have an even bigger impact on her team and the Big Sky Conference. A recipient of a 2018 Alice and Taylor Endowed Scholarship for Women's Athletics, the 6-2 guard from Medford had the Vikings' first triple-double in five years.
 
Against a talented UC Davis team, she hit 21 points, pulled in 12 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in a 65-50 win in one of the team's first appearances in the new Viking Pavilion. The last Viking with a triple double was Kate Lantz against Eastern Washington in 2013 with 22 points, 11 boards and 10 assists.
 
"She continues to take her game to the next level," said fourth-year head coach Lynn Kennedy. "Last year she had to deal with her hip injury, she didn't play at 100 percent all year and still made the All-Big Sky Team. She worked hard during the spring and summer to get better at attacking off the dribble, and continued to improve her three point shot."
 
Off-season, Bolston said: " I focused on getting more rotation on my shot. If I focus on getting shots up and shooting with more rotation, I see the results I want to see."
 
Offensively, she's able to beat anybody, said Kennedy.
 
"She's capable of elevating her game at any time. Last year, against Ole Miss from the SEC, she scored 32 points. We needed her to step up in that game and she responded in a big way," he said.
 
Bolston saw that game as one of her personal highlights last season. "A highlight that I had from last season was how well we competed as a team in the Big Sky Tournament. Being able to go out and execute the game plan and give ourselves a chance every game was a great feeling. Another highlight was beating Ole Miss and how well we completed against them the whole game."
 
Defense was another area she worked to improve.  She looked at a lot of film.
 
"I specifically looked at film of myself, as well as the team, and tried to pick out points I needed to work on. Defense is hard to practice, but if you can see what you need to work on, it can become more of an emphasis and focus going into the next season," she said.
 
Kennedy's goal for Bolston is "just for her to keep getting better each practice and game. Her role is still the same. She's a team captain, one of our team leaders. She's one of those players that can lead by her actions and performance on the court."
 
Bolston said her personal goal for this season is "just to compete as hard as I can every day, leading by example. If we all compete on a daily basis, then we give ourselves a chance to win." And, she'd like to see the Vikings advance further in the Big Sky Tournament…"with us winning the whole thing."
 
In the classroom, she will compete her criminology and criminal justice (black studies minor) degree this year and said finishing up her degree is the thing she's enjoying most so far into her senior year. But, she's still not sure what she wants to do with her major.
 
Kennedy thinks she has an array of options.
 
 "We are proud of how well she has done in the classroom. She will graduate this spring and will have so many options. I know she is not focused on this right now, but she will have options to play after college if that is something she wants to pursue.  She has been an amazing player for the Viking program and we are looking forward to see what she can accomplish this season," he said.