For the first time in its 15 year history, the Hall of Fame committee waived the 10 year waiting period between graduation and induction for an athlete. Because of Ashley Totedo’s overwhelming number of accomplishments, both on and off the court, the committee created a special honor for her.
Ashley is perhaps the most illustrious basketball player to ever compete for Shippensburg. Totedo played a key role in Shippensburg’s drive to four consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championships. Last season the Lady Raiders added an additional title to its streak and became the first PSAC basketball team to ever win five straight titles.
Totedo garnered many athletic honors through the years, including first team All-America for three years in a row on the Kodak Division II team which is selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She also was the Most Valuable Player of the PSAC Western Division and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division II South in 1998 and 1999.
Totedo also excelled in the classroom. She was on the GTE Academic All-America second team and was the recipient of a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship which she is using to continue her education at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She is pursuing a law degree.
Arriving at Shippensburg for the 1995-96 season, Totedo’s play as a freshman was instrumental in helping the Lady Raiders put together the best season in the team’s history. Shippensburg won the PSAC championship and the NCAA Division II East Region championship. Following those titles the Lady Raiders traveled to Fargo, North Dakota for the Elite Eight tournament and finished second in the nation, losing in the final game to North Dakota State before a crowd of nearly 7,000 and a national television audience. The team finished the year with a 28-6 record.
As a sophomore in 1997, Totedo earned first team All-America honors. In rebounding, her total of 391 and average of 13.0 per game set new team records. Shippensburg finished the year with a record of 25-5.
In 1998 Shippensburg became the first PSAC Western Division team to complete its league schedule with an undefeated record. The Lady Raiders went 28-4 for the year with a 12-0 conference mark. Shippensburg won the East Region title and went to the Elite Eight Tournament but lost in the quarterfinals.
Totedo averaged 17.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game and set a new team single season records for blocked shots with 106. At the end of the season she put together a string of six straight performances in pressure tournament situations that was unmatched in team history. For the six post season PSAC and NCAA tournament games she averaged 24.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game and hit 56.3 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from the foul line.
In 1999 Totedo was a team co-captain for the third time. She tallied 19.2 points and grabbed 11.9 rebounds per game for the season. Totedo set a new team record with 26 double-doubles, giving her 87 for her career. Shippensburg finished its season with a 25-6 record.
For her career Totedo set team and PSAC records for rebounds with 1,489 and blocked shots with 315. She tallied 2,050 points but fell short of the Shippensburg career record of 2,057 points set by Stacey Cunningham, another Lady Raider All-American, in 1984.
Totedo is the first NCAA Division II player to ever combine 2,000 points with 1,400 rebounds and 300 blocked shots. During her career Shippensburg compiled a 106-21 record for a winning percentage of .835.
