Too tough to handle
Lady Flames star forward Ashley Rininger is prepared for life after Liberty
Lacing up her red, Nike basketball shoes for the first practice of the season, Ashley Rininger is filled with mixed feelings. The 2015-2016 season is her fifth and final season as a Lady Flame. As she walks through the brand new locker room that still smells like sawdust and paint, Rininger feels that there is a new outlook on the upcoming season.
Vertical — Ashley Rininger goes up. Photo credit: Leah Seavers
“I think that I have a sense of urgency more than I have ever had in past seasons,” Rininger said. “This is it. I want to make the most of this incredible opportunity that is in front of me because it will be over before I know it.”
Rininger has been the Lady Flames starting post for the past three years. According to libertyflames.com, she has led the Flames in many categories such as rebounds, points and blocked shots. She became the 15th Lady Flame to ever score 1,000 career points and tied the Liberty sports Hall of Famer Katie Feenstra with the most blocks in a game, with six against No. 1 ranked South Carolina. Rininger was voted Big South Championship MVP after averaging 15.3 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game while posting three double-doubles during the
conference tournament.
Libertyflames.com also provided that entering her final season, Rininger ranks No. 4 in program history for blocked shots (137) and double-doubles (33), No. 8 in rebounds (792) and No. 13 in points (1,111). She is also tied for 27th in the nation with 14 career double-doubles and places 32nd for field goal percentage (.518).
Even with this long list of achievements on the court, some of the most impressive but overlooked accolades are her academic accomplishments. For the past two seasons, Rininger was selected as Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year, according to the Big South Conference. In addition, she was voted first team Capital One Academic All-American, becoming the third Academic All-American in program history. Throughout her life, Rininger has made education a priority.
“She was and still is very disciplined with school, basketball, work and social life,” Rininger’s mother, Joyce Rininger said.
Rininger is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in criminal justice-public administration. In 2014, she graduated after just three years with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a 4.0 GPA. She also graduated in 2015 with a master’s degree in human services counseling with a focus in crisis response and trauma with a 4.0 GPA.
So what is Rininger going to do with all these degrees?
“I want to be a Special Agent in the FBI dealing with violent crime,” Rininger said. “I have always wanted to help people, and although there are a lot of ways that this could be accomplished, I just felt like this was the best for me. I love the idea of fighting for justice and being a voice for victims.”
Rininger knows that her ability to perform under pressure will help her in more than just basketball.
“Law enforcement is also a really dark occupation,” Rininger said. “Police officers have to deal with a lot of horrible people, and see awful things, and I want to be a light in those dark places.”
With skills and focus to take her to many levels, in the next five years Rininger sees herself just finishing her basketball career overseas and getting into a law enforcement agency or the FBI. After all, Rininger realizes the importance of focus and endurance outside of basketball.
Stotmeister is a guest writer.