ASHLAND — She authored the greatest single-game scoring performance in school history earlier this season and Ashland’s Alyssa Steury just keeps putting up gaudy numbers.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, Steury combined for 35 points and 13 rebounds in a pair of games last week. The undersized point guard had 22 points and nine boards in a 49-37 loss at Lexington and added 13 points and four boards in a 56-42 loss at Norwalk.
For the season, Steury is averaging 20 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 3.2 steals a game.
“She does so many things for us,” first-year Ashland coach Dave Swartz said. “She’s a great player.”
Against Lexington, Steury was held scoreless in the first quarter. She responded by scoring 10 of Ashland’s 11 points in the second quarter as the Arrows forced a 16-16 halftime tie. Even more impressive were the nine rebounds the 5-foot-2 senior secured.
“She is a phenomenal player. She always stays calm and never seems rattled,” Lexington coach Heidi Roush said. “She creates things. I think she’s one of the best players in our league.”
That was evident earlier in the season when Steury broke Ashland’s single-game scoring record with 44 points in a 78-55 win over Maumee Valley Country Day at the Wayne Roller Holiday Showcase at Mansfield Christian. Steury was 20-for-31 from the field and finished one rebound away from a triple-double. She had 13 steals to go with nine boards.
“I have never seen anything like it,” Swartz said earlier this season.
A four-year letter winner, Steury averaged 5.2 points a game as a freshman and was an Ohio Cardinal Conference honorable mention selection. She averaged 7.4 points a game as a sophomore, again earning OCC honorable mention status. Last year her scoring average jumped to 14 points a game and she was selected to the OCC first team.
The inexperienced Arrows — Steury and Tylah Cline are the only seniors on the roster — are 2-14 on the season. Ashland will try to snap its seven-game skid Thursday at Madison.
“We’re young and we’re not very big, but the girls are working hard,” Swartz said. “They are getting better.”
