Student athlete spotlight: Concord High’s Ashleigh Roberts

Concord High School senior Ashleigh Roberts has put an indelible stamp on her fourth on the girls varsity basketball team, becoming the Raiders’ all-time leading girls basketball scorer.

Earlier in the season, in a game against a stingy St Mark's team back in December, Roberts was held to 11 points, but she still broke the record of 1,157 points scored by Concord alumna Brittany Ford, who is now at St. Joseph's University.

At the time, Roberts had 1,165 career points.

Since then, as Concord athletic director Deborah Corrado put it, Roberts has “been on a scoring tear.”

In a Feb. 16 game against Brandywine School District rival Mt. Pleasant, Roberts scored a game-high 24 points to surpass 1,500 points, leaving her presently with 1,516 points.

Indeed, Roberts is averaging 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals per game for Concord's team that is 12-2, and undefeated in the Blue Hen Conference Flight A, leading the Raiders to a 10-game winning streak, coach John Armstrong said.

And she’s doing it all while maintaining a 3.0 grade point average, scoring close to 1900 on her SATs.

Q What has allowed you to become Concord's all-time leading scorer?
A I spent most of my summer in the gym and practicing, but more than that, I'm competitive. I hate losing so that's why I work hard everyday. I don't even like losing sprints in practice; we race in warm up laps. My teammates help also. Yes, I create for myself but a lot of times one way or another something they do leads to me scoring.

Q Your 3.0 GPA is impressive. What level of classes are you in at Concord?
A I take AP Statistics, and Honors English, Spanish 4 and physics.

Q Where do you aim to go to college?
A I'm undecided about where I will go to college so far.

Q What can you do to ensure Concord makes it far into the tournament, despite the odds against the likes of St. Mark's and Ursuline, the most successful programs historically?
A To do the same thing we've been doing. Create for myself as well as my teammates, because they are stepping up and do a lot of good things for us also. We only lost to St. Mark’s by four [earlier this season].

Q Is there pressure from peers to not do as well in the classroom?
A No, I probably have the biggest support system at Concord. Everyone wants to see me do well, even the people I don't know. That's how it is for everyone at Concord.

Q What is your secret to happiness/success?
A Just to have fun doing what your doing. I usually don't play very well if I'm too tense. I have to remind myself to have fun no matter how important the game is. These are the moments I live for, that I will remember for the rest of my life. I don't want to miss enjoying them because I'm stressed out.

Q Where do you see yourself in five years?
A Hopefully somewhere still involved with basketball.