Prince George’s Sentinel Basketball Player of the Year: Ashia McCalla

March 10,2018-Towson, Maryland Roosevelt Guard Ashia McCalla (4) goes for a shot around Catonsville Guard Gabby Douglas (5) during the MPSSAA Girls 4A State Championship game between E. Roosevelt HS and Catonsville HS Towson, Maryland (Credit Image: Chris Thompkins/pgsentinel).

GREENBELT – On Feb. 8, the Eleanor Roosevelt Lady Raiders girl’s varsity basketball team looked for their sixth straight win at home against DuVal. Roosevelt came out with a substantial 59-27 victory to keep their winning streak intact, but that home game meant more to others. Senior guard Ashia McCalla led her team with 15 points and four rebounds but also completed a milestone in her high school career as she scored her 1,000th point. Just as McCalla led her team to a win against the Tigers, she led the Lady Raiders to an unforgettable season.  

The combination of McCalla’s crafty handles, accurate shooting and her ability to drive in the lane and score has made her one of the best players in the county over the past four years.

She has the offensive prowess defenders have nightmares about due to her fearlessness and aggressiveness that coaches have no gameplan for. These attributes along with being a leader helped McCalla to a stellar senior season.

McCalla averaged 17.2 points per game, more than six rebounds per contest and three steals a game during the regular season and led the Raiders to a 20-3 regular season record.

Roosevelt went undefeated at home this season and the Lady Raiders have not lost a home game since McCalla joined the varsity team in 2015 as a freshman.

Roosevelt has been one of the most dominant teams in Prince George’s County over the past decade. McCalla has been a key component of the Lady Raiders’ most recent success. They won the state championship during McCalla’s freshman year, but the last two years they came up short. The championship experience McCalla gained as a freshman helped her lead her team as a senior. On March 8, Roosevelt entered Towson University as regional champions for the second-straight year. With a trip to the state championship game on the line once again, McCalla wanted to win her second championship in four years before she took her talents to Baltimore at Morgan State University in the fall. McCalla did not disappoint as she led her squad with a full stat line of 20 points, eight rebounds and six steals as they beat North Point High School 54-41.

“The loss from last season made us the hungriest we have ever been throughout the whole season,” McCalla said after the game. “We really wanted to get to the championship game this season. That’s why I was driven because I know what I can do on the court. I did not hold back today and left everything out on the court.”

In the championship game, they went up against the defending champs (Catonsville High School) as underdogs.

McCalla had other plans in mind as ended her high school career with a career high of 29 points to go with nine rebounds and another state championship under her belt while showing Morgan State that they made the right decision when they recruited her.

McCalla ended her senior season with 479 points, 14 blocks, 64 assists, 177 rebounds and 40 three-pointers made. She also had four double-doubles and led her team in points per game, field goals made, three-pointers made and assists.