BY JEFF FALK

 PHOTO COURTESY OF SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

Anyone who saw Ariel Jones play basketball at Cedar Crest knew she was going to have success on the next level. But no one could’ve imagined she would’ve enjoyed as much as she did, or as quickly.

Except for Jones, perhaps.

Jones, a 2017 graduate of CCHS, was recently named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s East Freshman of the Year. Shippensburg’s 5-7 freshman guard led the school’s women’s basketball team in scoring, at an average of 21.8 points per outing, in free-throw shooting, at 84 percent, in three-pointers made, with 51, in steals and was second on the club in assists.

Jones led the PSAC in scoring, was eighth in the nation among NCAA Division Two scorers and was the only freshman named to the all-PSAC first team. She was the first freshman to be named to the all-PSAC first team in a decade.

During the season, Jones earned eight PSAC Freshman-of-the-Week honors.

Jones started all 28 games for Shippensburg University, and the Red Raiders compiled a 7-21 overall record.

At Cedar Crest, Jones helped the Falcons to two straight Lancaster-Lebanon League championships. She tallied 1,234 points in her scholastic career and was named the MVP of Section One of the L-L during her senior campaign.

Jones also starred in track and field and on the soccer pitch for Cedar Crest.