BIOGRAPHY
One of the recent greats within the Portland State women’s basketball program, Ashley Bolston – the 2019 Big Sky tournament MVP – re-joined the Vikings as an assistant coach ahead of the 2022-23 season. The 2024-25 season will be her third year as an assistant and fourth overall on staff.
As an assistant coach during the 2022-23 season, Bolston helped orchestrate the biggest year-to-year turnaround in program history. After an 0-20 conference campaign during their 2021-22 season, the Vikings went 8-10 during the 2022-23 season and advanced to the Big Sky semifinals for the first time since Bolston was a player herself in 2019. That +8 win differential was not only the largest turnaround in program history, but one win away from the biggest year-to-year turnaround in Big Sky Conference history.
ALL-TIME GREAT MAKING GOOD
A standout guard in her own time at Portland State, Bolston has brought her expertise to the Vikings’ current players now as an assistant coach. During the Vikings’ turnaround 2022-23 season, the Vikings got outstanding guard play that saw them rank second in the Big Sky for three-point field goal percentage (.350) and fifth in three-pointers made per game (7.48). The Vikings’ 232 made three-pointers as a team ranked as their third-highest total in program history.
This past season, Bolston helped lead Esmeralda Morales to All-Big Sky first team honors in 2024, making her the first Viking to make the first team since Sidney Rielly – a teammate of Bolston’s – in 2019. Morales earned the honor after becoming the first Viking ever to lead the Big Sky Conference in scoring (16.5 points per game).
Morales also earned All-Big Sky second-team honors following the 2022-23 season when she ranked in the top 15 of the Big Sky Conference in nine different statistical categories. She now has two of the top five three-point shooting seasons in program history between her 87 makes during the 2023-24 season and 77 in 2022-23. Jada Lewis also posted a top five season in 2022-23 with 80 makes.
Lewis and Morales ranked 1-2 in the Big Sky Conference with 2.58 and 2.48 three-pointers made per game.
Three-point shooting helped lead the Vikings to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament in 2023, the Vikings’ first appearance in the semifinals since Bolston led the Vikings to the title in 2019. The Vikings tied a program record with 15 made three-pointers in their upset win over defending champion Montana State in the quarterfinals. Morales set a program tournament record with 28 points in the upset win over the Bobcats, while she was named to the Big Sky’s All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.3 points per game.
PLAYING CAREER
As a player, the highlights of Bolston’s PSU career came when she led the Vikings to the Big Sky tournament title as tournament MVP in 2019. Bolston averaged 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during the tournament, including a game-high 16 points in the championship game against Eastern Washington.
Bolston’s tournament MVP honors provided a fitting cap to her standout senior season in 2018-19. Bolston ranked in the top 15 of the Big Sky Conference for points per game (12.6), assists per game (4.5), free throw percentage (.821), steals per game (2.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). She also became only the second Big Sky athlete ever to record two different triple-doubles during a single season. Bolston recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists against UC Davis on Nov. 16, 2018, and then came within a steal of a quadruple-double while recording 19 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and nine steals against the University of Portland on Dec. 1, 2018.
From a career perspective, Bolston finished in the top 10 all time at Portland State for points (9th, 1,334), points per game (8th, 14.8), free throw percentage (6th, .832), assists (7th, 381) and steals (5th, 216) despite only playing three years for the Vikings. Only two other players rank in the top 10 for points, assists and steals, and both of them – Claire Faucher and Kim Manifesto – have been inducted into the Portland State Hall of Fame.
In addition to her tournament MVP honors as a senior, Bolston was the Big Sky’s Top Newcomer during the 2016-17 season, as well as a three-time All-Big Sky second-team selection and a three-time All-Big Sky tournament team honoree. She also served as team captain during all three years she played at Portland State, and was a three-time Academic All-Big Sky honoree.
PREVIOUS STOPS AND PERSONAL
Bolston earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminology & Criminal Justice at Portland State, with a minor in Black Studies. She worked a year within the Department of Human Services in Child Protective Services, which she did in between her stints as the Video Coordinator at Portland State (2019-20) and an assistant coach at McNeese State (2021-22).
