Courtesy of Dusty Sloan, Ashland Sports Information Director

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – At the banquet on Sunday (March 18) night prior to the start of the NCAA Division II women's basketball Elite Eight, Ashland University forward Julie Worley was named the tournament's Elite 90 Award winner.

The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 90 championships.

Through the fall 2017 semester, Worley sported a 3.99 cumulative grade-point average as an Exercise Science major.

One of the best players to primarily come off the bench in Ashland women's basketball history, Worley has scored 1,001 points and grabbed 480 rebounds, and has percentages of 56.4 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line, in 132 career games.

This season, Worley is averaging 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest, shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and 83.1 percent from the foul line.

Worley is the second Ashland student-athlete to earn the Elite 90 award. When it was named the Elite 89, Eagle women's golfer Holly James garnered the honor prior to the 2013 NCAA Division II Championships.