PHOTO GALLERYA two-time conference player of the year, Ashley Hilton ranks fifth in the history of New Haven women’s basketball with 1,637 career points. An All-America honoree from two organizations as a senior, she guided the Chargers to consecutive ECC Championships and NCAA postseason appearances in 2006 and 2007 to cap an outstanding career with the Blue and Gold.
In addition to her point total, Hilton ranks among New Haven’s all-time leaders in games played, field goals, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds and blocked shots.
Hilton came to the University in 2003 and made an immediate impact as the Chargers’ third-leading scorer and second-most prolific rebounder as a freshman. She netted 22 points at Southern Connecticut State in her second career game, and later posted 21 points with 10 boards in a victory at Mercy. New Haven finished the 2003-04 campaign with a record of 20-9 – its best mark in 16 seasons – and reached the semifinals on the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
A 14-game winning streak highlighted the 2004-05 season for the Chargers, with Hilton contributing 9.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-leading 2.7 assists per game. She scored a season-best 21 points against Bryant and had 10 boards in two contests. New Haven against reached the NYCAC Semifinals and finished out the year at 18-11 overall.
As a junior in 2005-06, Hilton emerged as the NYCAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference honoree, leading the Chargers to a conference championship with team highs of 16.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. She netted double figures in 26 of 30 games and was New Haven’s leading scorer in 16 contests, including 30 points in a win at Southern New Hampshire and a career-best 32 tallies in a NYCAC Tournament victory over Queens. After claiming the first NYCAC Championship in program history with a 64-50 win against C.W. Post, the Chargers returned to the NCAA postseason. Despite a season-ending loss in the opening round, Hilton impressed on the national stage with 22 points and 13 rebounds as New Haven rounded out a 24-7 campaign.
Hilton’s senior season was one of the finest in the history of New Haven women’s basketball. She once again collected Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors in the renamed East Coast Conference, leading the Chargers to another conference title and NCAA postseason appearance. Hilton led the ECC with 18.6 points per game, and her 576 total points rank third in a single-season in program history. She scored a career-best 36 points in a win over Dowling as a part of streak of 24 consecutive games netting double figures, a posted 10 double-doubles en route to 7.5 rebounds per contest. Hilton was named the Most Valuable Player of the ECC Tournament, pouring in 23 points in the championship game as New Haven once again topped C.W. Post, 75-74, to win its second consecutive conference title and earn another appearance in the NCAA postseason. Hilton was lauded at the end of the 2006-07 campaign as a WBCA and Division II Bulletin All-American after guiding the Chargers to a 25-6 record that included a perfect 11-0 mark at Charger Gymnasium.
New Haven went 87-33 during Hilton’s career, posting one of the most successful four-year stretches in program history.
