Ashley Howard presented her side of the story Wednesday as she testified in the sexual assault trial against Royce Hooks, a former ISU football player.

Howard said she was sexually abused against her will during an Ames party in January 2002 by Hooks, senior in exercise and sport science, and his teammate, Brent Nash, junior in exercise and sport science.

The defense for Hooks attests that Howard consented to the sexual acts performed.

After testifying she had not eaten much on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2002, before drinking three Jack Daniels wine coolers, a Smirnoff Ice and a shot of rum within a half-hour, Howard testified she was “completely wasted.”

“I was able to walk, but definitely felt the effects of the alcohol,” she said.

She could not recall and denied allegations that she told others at the party she was looking for someone to have sex with her.

Although Howard testified she could not remember a time when she was more drunk than on that night, Howard said she was not so drunk she could not remember things.

With music blaring and the only light in the apartment at 4701 Steinbeck St. #4 coming from a red party light, Howard testified she was “hustled” by others as she made her way through the “shoulder to shoulder” mass of people to pick up her coat in the back room.

Once in the dark back room, Howard said she tripped over the arm of a couch, causing her to fall back in a sprawled out position on the couch.

“My head was heavy when I fell back because I was drunk,” she testified. “I was already drunk, so it was going to take me some time to get up.”

Howard testified she heard the door shut and a voice say, “We can do this.”

All she could see in the dark room were the silhouettes of two “large men,” she testified. She said one man was in front of her while the other man was to her side.

Almost simultaneously, she said, one man attempted to force her to perform oral sex, while she said “No” and experienced “pelvic pain” from the other man penetrating her.

“It was disgusting, and I was scared,” Howard said. “I didn’t know what to do. It just happened so fast.”

This went on for approximately five to seven minutes, she testified.

“I was in shock. I had no idea what happened to me,” Howard said. “I remember thinking, ‘I just wanted to get out of there.'”

The judge recessed the court several times throughout the day, so Howard could compose herself after breaking down in tears.

During cross-examination, Paul Rounds, the defense attorney, told the court Howard did not cry while describing the event during earlier deposition. Howard admitted her attorney, Assistant Story County Attorney Mary Howell Sirna, asked her to cry on the witness stand.

Rounds also questioned why Howard was unable to provide a description of the two men, even though the light was turned on before the three left the room.

“It’s not whether or not I had a clear look,” she said. “I was in shock. I couldn’t remember.”

Judge Timothy J. Finn adjourned the court 55 minutes early because it had already been “a hard day of testimony.”

Witness testimony will continue Thursday and is expected to continue into next week.