NATCHEZ — Natchez native and Copiah-Lincoln Community College basketball player Ashley Minor said she would continue her education and collegiate basketball career at Mississipi College in the fall.

Minor played at Natchez High School until 2012, and became a member of the Lady Wolves soon after.

Two years later, Minor leaves Co-Lin as their second leading scorer averaging 12.5 points a game, and led the team with 2.4 assists a game.

But before she became such an instrumental part of the Lady Wolves’ program, Minor wasn’t sure if she was cut out for college basketball.

“My freshman year was a big difference from high school because in college, we ran nothing but plays, but in high school, we just played ball,” Minor said. “I struggled at the beginning, but I kept working and asked my coaches what I needed to do to get better. I got adjusted and I was good to go.”

The Lady Wolves won the 2013 MACJC State Championship, and Minor said it was a feeling she never felt before.

“That was my first time ever playing in a championship game,” Minor said. “It was my dream to play in a championship game.”

That title gave Minor the motivation to come back even stronger in her sophomore year — and she did.

Aside from her team-leading averages, Minor was named MACJC player of the week (Jan. 27-Feb. 1) when she averaged 21 points and nine rebounds per game. She was also named MACJC Second Team All-State, NJCAA Region 23 All-Tournament and played in the MACJC All-Star Game.

All the while, Minor said she had one particular school keeping an eye on her.

“In October, Mississippi College came to one of my practices and they liked my game,” she said. “They said they like that I could play the (point guard and shooting guard), and that’s what they needed. They were first four-year college to talk to me.”

Minor said she kept in communication with the coaches throughout her sophomore year at Co-Lin, and they offered her the full scholarship April 23.

Minor said she knows playing at a Division 2 school will be different than junior college.

“It’s going to be a big change,” Minor said. “As a freshman at Co-Lin, I had a (former) teammate that was a sophomore that I knew, and then a freshman (from Natchez) played this past season, so this is the first time I won’t be playing with a Natchez native. It’s a different experience playing with girls I never played with before.”

Minor said she would be working out this summer to stay in shape before heading to Mississippi College in the fall where she will study kinesiology.