By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

LINCOLN - Ashley O’Dell experienced one of those bittersweet moments that would be hard to match.
Being a senior and the competitor that she is, the Lincoln High standout didn’t want to end her final season playing basketball for the Lions with a loss. But in heartbreaking fashion on March 4 that occurred when Lincoln, a No.10 seed, was defeated, 57-51, in double overtime by seventh-seeded Exeter/West Greenwich in a preliminary round game of the Division I playoffs.
Even though the hurt of coming so close to advancing in the tournament was still there, O’Dell still had a reason to crack a smile before she boarded the bus to go home.
Sitting in the stands at the Scarlet Knights’ gymnasium was Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) head coach Meghan Bowen. It was her third time watching O’Dell play against the state’s best teams, only this time she was also the bearer of good news.
Shortly after the setback, Bowen offered O’Dell a full scholarship to play for the Division II school.
“I guess it was like a down period when college coaches can talk to you. I wasn’t really expecting them to talk to me here,” O’Dell recalled. “I was really upset after the game. It made me feel a little better when she told me because now I knew it wouldn’t be my last game. Now I (officially) knew I would be playing in college.”
Prior to his star player getting the news, Lincoln coach Mike Bedrossian was informed by Bowen about her decision.
“I knew that she was coming to watch her. I had a good feeling she was going to sign her,” Bedrossian said. “It was a somber moment after the game. I believe Ashley was one of the only players crying, realizing that it was over. When I talked to coach Bowen after the game, she said she liked the way Ashley played and said she was going to offer her a scholarship. She said she was going to tell her later in the week. I told her now would probably be a good time. I think that really cheered her up.”
O’Dell follows in the footsteps of her older sister Bethany O’Dell, a multiple all-stater for the Lions and the school’s all-time leading scorer (male or female), who earned a full-ride to play for Division I Holy Cross three years ago.
The younger O’Dell, like her sister, is also the owner of a brand new car, courtesy of her parents, Dale and Sandy O’Dell.
“It’s in the driveway right now,” said Dale on Monday. “It started off as a joke with Bethany. I told if she ever got a scholarship, I would get her a new car. As she started playing, I realized it could happen. When she was offered her scholarship, I held up to my promise. When Ashley saw her big sister get it, she told me to get ready to get her one. It seemed only fair.”
“I don’t care,” he added. “They’re saving me a lot of money (in college tuition).”
While it was a somewhat difficult season this year for the Lions, who finished third in Division I-North with a 7-11 record, O’Dell certainly proved why she has what it takes to make an impact at the collegiate level.
Despite getting double- and sometimes triple-teamed by most of her opponents this winter, she still finished as the top scorer in the league, averaging 23.4 points per game. Demonstrating her all-around ability, O’Dell also averaged six steals, six rebounds and seven rebounds per outing. 
O’Dell really began to catch fire towards the end of the season where she often scored 30 or more points in the final month. Part of her motivation was the fact that a good year could pay her college tuition.
O’Dell was also recruited heavily by Iona College and Sacred Heart University.
“It wasn’t like Bethany. She already knew before the season even started where she was going,” said Ashley. “She still played well, like she always does, but at least she knew. I had to deal (with not knowing) pretty much every game. It definitely motivated me. It really inspired me to do well knowing that there was an incentive at the end.”
Bedrossian, who is taking a break from his coaching duties to spend more time with his young son, began his brief career on the sidelines when the younger of the talented O’Dell duo was a freshman. In that first year, he watched her team with her sister to win the second of back-to-back Division II state titles.
With the Lions making the move to the state’s best division the following year, and with her sister now out of the picture, he saw Ashley develop instantly into a leader on the floor.
“It didn’t surprise me, not at all that she was offered a scholarship,” said Bedrossian, about O‘Dell, who was also a star player for the soccer team, which won a pair of Division III state championships in 2006 and ‘07.“I thought she was the best player in the state this year. She didn’t have a great supporting cast this year like her first and second year. In all four years that I have been coaching, we either won a championship or were in the playoffs. Ashley was a big part of that.”
O’Dell ended her career with the Lions with 1,851 points. She was second on the school’s all-time list behind Bethany’s 2,461. Talent-wise, Bedrossian feels both siblings had their own unique ability.
“Two totally different styles,” he said. “Bethany was a pure shooter and could work the perimeter and Ashley was a creator. She created things…She was a better passer, no doubt. I think that’s the one thing that got her into college. Even though she led the state in scoring, it was her passing and defense. She led the floor. She made the people around her better. That’s what they saw.”
SCSU, which is located in New Haven, plays in the Northeast-10 Conference where it faces schools such as Merrimack, Assumption and Saint Rose. The Owls finished 7-20 overall this season and were 4-18 in the conference.
“I feel comfortable with them,“ O’Dell said. “They really don’t have many players. They probably had about six this year. I’ll probably be playing as a one or two guard.  I’m going to have a chance to play a lot, which is good.”
Now that they’ll have both their daughters playing in two different leagues with two different schedules, life has become a bit more difficult for Dale and Sandy O’Dell. Add in the fact that their tenth-grade son, Ryan, is a gifted three-sport athlete for the Lions and will be playing hockey during the winter months.
How will the parents deal with the confusion?
“It’s not like we are not used to it,” said Dale. “We’ll do the best we can. Seeing how it’s Bethany’s senior year, we’ll probably give her preference. We’ll split it up sometimes. We’re used to it. It will be a little hectic, probably the most hectic time of our lives. But we’ll manage.”