Averett women’s basketball opens 3-0 for first time in school history

Sophomore Ashley Washington scored a career-high 24 points as Averett defeated Hood College 61-42 on Wednesday night at the Grant Center in Danville. The Cougars improved to 3-0 for the first time in the program’s history.

Hood (2-1) took a brief 4-2 lead, but Washington scored the next five points top put Averett back in front 7-4. The Cougars never relinquished the lead from there. They built as much as a 16-point lead in the first half before Hood trimmed it to 32-18 by halftime.
Washington scored 14 of her points in the second half and finished with eight rebounds and six steals. Her previous career high was 21 points last November against Bridgewater.

Junior Kristyn Wharton scored 10 of her 17 points following halftime. She also tallied six rebounds and four steals. Senior Taylor Poirier contributed nine points and four steals, while Nikki Huffman grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and had four steals.
Jen Willison led the Blazers with 14 points and eight rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half. Allyson Lethbridge chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

The Cougars’ three-game winning streak is their first since last season when they won three straight conference games over an eight-day stretch in late January and early February.

Averett returns to action on Tuesday at home against Bridgewater College. Game time is 5:30 p.m.