Panthers' Hughes signs NLI with Edison State

For Allison Hughes, the perfect fit for college is just an hour south in Piqua.

The Parkway senior will spend two years at Edison State Community College, one of the best junior college women's basketball programs in the nation.

"I went down there and walked around," said Hughes, who will major in early childhood education with an emphasis on special education. "I sat down with (Chargers coach Tim McMahon) and he asked what other colleges have I been looking at. He asked about how much they were going to give for scholarships and he offered me a full ride. It was kind of a no-brainer, but I kept my options open as far as basketball."

The Chargers are 13-6 out the gate this season and 5-3 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference. The previous two seasons, Edison went a combined 57-5 and reached the National Junior College Athletic Association's national tournament.

"The coaches are super-nice," said Hughes. "They're always family-first, which is great since I am a family-first person as well. They put family in everything. They're always encouraging. They'll always back up (a negative comment) with something positive."

Hughes, who has a strong basketball bloodline on both her father's side (Parkway boys head coach Doug Hughes) and mother's side (former Fort Recovery and Xavier University standout Lynn (Bihn) Hughes, as well as many of Allison's uncles and aunts on the Bihn side of the family), has really picked up her game over the years, particularly scoring, as Parkway has improved from struggling to win a single game in the Midwest Athletic Conference to currently sharing first place in the league.

The 6-2 Hughes leads the area in rebounding at 11.8 boards per contest to go with 11 points per game. She has also improved her shooting percentage, especially in making the shots around the rim. Hughes is shooting 55% from the floor this season and also has averaged 1.1 blocks per game.

"Coach (Dan) Williamson and the staff have helped me think about my next moves," said Hughes. "I've really learned about rebounding here at Parkway and want to take that to Edison."