It has been a bit of a whirlwind for Andrean junior Ashlee Evans.
Attending a new school after transferring from Lowell. Playing for new teams. Adjusting to multiple positions on the basketball court.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t know how anyone played,” Evans said. “It was learning how everyone was playing and what they normally do. It was a big learning curve. But once it clicked, it clicked. Everything started working, and we all started improving.”
So much so that Andrean has won its second straight regional championship after winning its first since 1999. The 59ers (13-14) will play Lewis Cass (22-3), a first-time regional winner, in the semifinals of the Class 2A Logansport Semistate on Saturday.
The 5-foot-8 Evans, whose mother, Nancy, is a math teacher at Andrean, averages 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds, both third on the team behind forward/center Maddie Walton and guard Lindsay Arcella, a pair of standout juniors.
After the 59ers tinkered with their lineups and systems, Evans and Walton formed a dynamic duo in the frontcourt. Freshman Helen Weber also has contributed.
“With (Evans), this all stems from the whole start of our season,” Andrean coach Tony Scheub. “We were all over the place with everybody. We had her start off as a guard, we had her at post, we had her doing both. Everything we were doing wasn’t working. Then we went to another offense, and that wasn’t working. And then we decided to go with two post players, and put Maddie in the post and put Ashlee in the post.”
The 59ers finally discovered an effective combination.
“That was a better position for (Evans),” Scheub said. “She did that more at Lowell, as well, and when we started doing that, we found out she’s an excellent passer into the post. She and Maddie have developed a good relationship and chemistry on the floor. She gets it into Maddie quite a bit and gets into places where she can score too.
“She’s very unselfish. She’s passed up a lot of open shots to get an even better shot closer to the rim.”
Walton has enjoyed playing with Evans.
“It definitely was a new thing for everybody,” Walton said. “I like it with the new offense with me and her as the posts. It’s definitely the fit for our team, for sure.
“She’s shorter, but she’s still a good post player. She’s very aggressive. She’s not afraid of contact at all. She’s definitely a fit for the post position. She’s athletic and fast. She can sprint up and down the floor.”
Evans agreed she’s more comfortable than she was at the beginning of the season. She said her confidence has grown.
“I was mostly a post player at Lowell,” she said. “I wasn’t a big shooter. I started off on the outside here. Then Scheub figured out I was a better post player than a guard.”
She added with a laugh, “My post moves are definitely better than my handles.”
Evans, who split her sophomore season at Lowell between the varsity and junior varsity teams, also plays volleyball and softball. After opening last softball season on Lowell’s JV team, she said she “proved” herself to earn varsity time as an outfielder and leadoff hitter, batting .351.
This spring, Evans will join an Andrean softball team that was the Class 2A state runner-up last year without a senior on the roster.
She has relished the 59ers’ run in basketball as they pursue their first semistate title. Lowell lost a sectional opener in each of her two seasons.
“It’s insane,” Evans said when asked about winning a regional title. “I didn’t expect it. I wanted to expect it, but I’ve never done this before. The adrenaline was insane.”
