Temple University Athletics
Women’s Basketball Signee Jasha Clinton Named Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year
3.9.20 | Women's Basketball
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Temple University Women's Basketball signee Jasha Clinton has been named the 2019-20 Gatorade Virginia Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Clinton as Virginia's best high school girl's basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Clinton joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill High School, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville High School, N.C.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central High School, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo High School, Calif.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis High School, Ind.), Katie Smith (1991-92, Logan High School, Ohio) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside High School, Calif.).
The 5-foot-8 senior guard out of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach has led the Cavaliers to a 25-1 record as they look to win the program's seventh-straight state championship. Clinton averaged 14.5 points, 4.8 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.7 rebounds through 25 games before adding 25 points, eight steals and six assists in the Cavaliers' 91-48 win over Henrico High School on Mar. 6 in the state quarterfinal.
The 2019 Class 5 Region A Player of the Year, she is a four-year starting point guard and won state championships in each of her first three years at Princess Anne. Clinton has volunteered locally for multiple fundraising campaigns to benefit breast cancer research and has spent time as a youth basketball coach.
"We are so proud of Jasha," exclaimed head women's basketball coach Tonya Cardoza. "To be named Gatorade Player of the Year is such a prestigious honor. It's a direct reflection of what she has done on the court and in the classroom. We are so lucky that she chose Temple to be her home for the next four years."
Cardoza herself was a Gatorade Player of the Year, earning award in the first year of its inception. She was the 1985-86 Massachusetts recipient out of Boston English High School. Assistant Coach Willnett Crockett was also a Gatorade Player of the Year, earning the 2001-02 California honor. The only player in Temple women's basketball history to earn the prestigious award was the 1985-86 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, Rhonda Bates.
Clinton has maintained a 3.13 GPA in the classroom and represents one of the state's top academic candidates in meeting the Gatorade award's criteria.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.
As a part of Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward," Clinton also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing. She is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.
Clinton and the Cavaliers take on Woodgrove High School in the state semifinal Tuesday, Mar. 10 at Norfolk State University.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Clinton as Virginia's best high school girl's basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Clinton joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill High School, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville High School, N.C.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central High School, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo High School, Calif.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis High School, Ind.), Katie Smith (1991-92, Logan High School, Ohio) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside High School, Calif.).
The 5-foot-8 senior guard out of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach has led the Cavaliers to a 25-1 record as they look to win the program's seventh-straight state championship. Clinton averaged 14.5 points, 4.8 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.7 rebounds through 25 games before adding 25 points, eight steals and six assists in the Cavaliers' 91-48 win over Henrico High School on Mar. 6 in the state quarterfinal.
The 2019 Class 5 Region A Player of the Year, she is a four-year starting point guard and won state championships in each of her first three years at Princess Anne. Clinton has volunteered locally for multiple fundraising campaigns to benefit breast cancer research and has spent time as a youth basketball coach.
"We are so proud of Jasha," exclaimed head women's basketball coach Tonya Cardoza. "To be named Gatorade Player of the Year is such a prestigious honor. It's a direct reflection of what she has done on the court and in the classroom. We are so lucky that she chose Temple to be her home for the next four years."
Cardoza herself was a Gatorade Player of the Year, earning award in the first year of its inception. She was the 1985-86 Massachusetts recipient out of Boston English High School. Assistant Coach Willnett Crockett was also a Gatorade Player of the Year, earning the 2001-02 California honor. The only player in Temple women's basketball history to earn the prestigious award was the 1985-86 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, Rhonda Bates.
Clinton has maintained a 3.13 GPA in the classroom and represents one of the state's top academic candidates in meeting the Gatorade award's criteria.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.
As a part of Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward," Clinton also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of her choosing. She is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.
Clinton and the Cavaliers take on Woodgrove High School in the state semifinal Tuesday, Mar. 10 at Norfolk State University.
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