USJ Lady Bruin Ashton Hulme playing to her potential

Ashton Hulme remembers the first time she played basketball.

She was four-years-old playing in a church league in Jackson. It didn’t turn out the way she hoped.

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“It was not pretty,” Hulme said jokingly. “I couldn’t dribble the ball. I’ve come a long way since then.”

From not being able to dribble to becoming a productive post player, Hulme has turned into a focal point for the University School of Jackson girls basketball team. A self-described leader, Hulme’s development is a product of her work ethic.

Her potential for growth and development has always been there. USJ coach Tony Shutes saw it early on.

“I teach elementary physical education, when I had her in fourth and fifth grade, I knew she was going to be good because she came to our basketball camps,” Shutes said. “When I watched her in middle school I knew she was going to be good. … We could tell then she loved the game, so it’s all about putting the work in and that’s what she’s done.”

It took some time to develop.

Hulme got a little playing time her freshman and sophomore seasons. It wasn’t until last year when Shutes needed Hulme to help alleviate the pressure on former USJ player Anna Jones.

“You could just see when we got into postseason play that she just started maturing, developing,” Shutes said.

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Once last season ended, Hulme went to work. Her post game is much more refined.

“I’ve been practicing for four years on this,” Hulme said. “Coach Stephanie (Shutes) has helped me a lot my four years to develop me. I’m still learning now. It’s not just like I’m done. I still have more to improve on, but it’s taken me my entire high school career to become the post player that I am now.”

She’s helped fill the void left by Jones both on and off the court. Hulme took the onus on herself to become a better leader.

“I knew I had to step up this year and be the leader,” Hulme said. “We lost five seniors, we lost Anna, and I knew we had to replace what we lost. So I knew I had to get better for my team. I had to get stronger mentally and physically and just had to develop my defensive game, my offensive game just to take it to a whole other level so I can take my team where I want it to go.”

The Lady Bruins want to get to the same point they did last season. They made it to the Division II-A state title game before losing to Northpoint. Hulme wants to change that this season.

“I want to win the state championship,” she said.

Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9638 and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.