On Friday morning, Senior Ariel Jones (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) was selected for the 2023 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Coaches’ All-America Basketball Team. She is now the fourth Raider in history to receive this honor, and her first All-America First Team accolade. Jones is also the all-time leading scorer in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) history.
Jones now joins the elite list of Raiders that have received the All-America honor: two-time All-American Lauren Beckley, three-time All-America Ashley (Totedo) Swanson, and Stacey (Cunningham) Dellinger. In the 2019-20 season, Jones was previously named WBCA Honorable Mention.
Head coach Kristy Trn expressed her excitement over the recognition, saying, “What an outstanding honor for Ariel to cap off an outstanding career at Shippensburg University. We are all very proud of her hard work and dedication not only this year, but every year she has represented us. She has represented us in the most outstanding ways. Congratulations to her; she is deserving of the honor of First Team All American.”
Jones serves as a guard on a Raider team that had 25 victories and reached the 2023 PSAC Women’s Basketball Championship Semifinals and the 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Championship Semifinals. She was also named to the 2022-23 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships All-Tournament Team.
This season, Jones solidified her place as one of the top scorers in NCAA women’s basketball history. She has 2,806 total points, which is fourth all-time in the history of NCAA Division II. In this season alone, Jones broke the all-time PSAC single-game scoring record with 51 points, the PSAC career scoring record with 2,806 points, the NCAA Division II career free-throws made record with 850, and the PSAC single-season scoring record with 795 points. She finishes with the school records for points, field goals (853) and free throws.
Jones currently ranks second in the nation in points per game (24.8) and leads the nation in free-throws made (199) and in field-goal attempts (677). She entered the postseason leading the PSAC in scoring, field goals, free throws and steals.
Jones posted double figures in 31-of-32 games this season, including 20 games of 20 or more points and eight games of 30 or more points. Her 262 field goals made, 72 three-pointers, 217 rebounds, and 79 steals are all season career highs.
Jones has become the first player in PSAC history to record four seasons of 600 or more points, with 795 points this season. She is also the fourth player in PSAC history to have 700 or more points in a season. Jones was recognized nine times this season as a PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week, the most by any Shippensburg athlete in a season and career. She has totaled 20 Athlete of the Week awards in her career.
