From just about anywhere on the court Ashleigh Ortowski is a scoring threat.
The Collinsville junior can get into the lane, connect from beyond the three-point line or frustrate foes with trips to the free-throw line.
Plus her ability to draw attention opened things up for her teammates as the Lady Pirates made another deep playoff push. Ortowski’s play also drew attention to earn the nod as the Herald Democrat Readers’ Choice Female Athlete of the Year.
Ortowski’s weekly honor by the voting public came in the middle of January when she helped the Lady Pirates to a pair of district victories and finished with a triple-double — 37 points, 12 assists and 10 steals — against Alvord. The prior outing saw her net 24 points against rival Tioga.
She continued to produce big performances throughout the season no matter where they fell on the calendar, including notching her 1,000th career point right after Christmas.
To open the playoffs Ortowski nearly had a quadruple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and eight steals in a win against Whitewright and then scored 17 points in an area round victory over Como-Pickton.
When the Lady Pirates clinched a spot in the postseason, she put up 34 points in the team’s second win of the year against Tioga in district action.
And right at the start of the season, Ortowski had 21 points in a win over S&S.
Ortowski helped Collinsville reach the 2A Division I Region II semifinals before losing to eventual state champion Nocona and finish with a 25-8 record.
It was the second consecutive year the Lady Pirates made it to the region semis, producing two of the program’s best campaigns in decades.
Collinsville had captured the top seed for the playoffs after sharing the District 13-2A title with Muenster and Slidell.
Ortowski was voted first-team all-district for the second straight season and also one of 20 players selected for the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches 2A Region II squad.
On the track, Ortowski helped the Lady Pirates’ mile relay finished seventh at the Class 2A Region II meet following a third-place finish at area and as the District 13-2A runner-up.
She also was part of Collinsville’s 800 relay that advanced to the area meet after taking third in the 13-2A meet.
During the fall she was part of the cross-country team’s top 10 finish at the regional meet with an individual placement of 68th in 14:04.82 as well as earning honorable mention all-district honors for the volleyball team, which reached the region semifinals.
