JENNA WILLIAMSON STANDS OUT ON COURT
For Jenna Williamson, the accolades and milestones never seem to stop.
The senior guard for the Bridgewater State University women’s basketball team added another accomplishment to her long list last Tuesday when she became the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point mark.
“Anytime a kid hits a career milestone like that it is obviously very special,” said Bridgewater State head coach Bridgett Casey.
Williamson joined the club when she hit a jump shot with 4:51 remaining in the first half against Rhode Island College (RIC).
Doing it against RIC had its own significance, as Kara Williamson, the Anchorman’s head coach, is Williamson’s sister.
“I didn’t really know when I scored it,” Williamson said. “It was kind of on my mind at the beginning of the game, but then I forgot about it once we were down and just trying to play good to get back into the game.
“I was excited about that because she wanted to see it and she wouldn’t have been able to. It aligned perfectly.”
Williamson stepped onto the court freshman year and showed she could contribute immediately for the Lady Bears. Even though she only started five games during her freshman season, Williamson averaged nine points per game.
Now in her senior season, Williamson has morphed into the Lady Bears’ field general. To go along with her duties running the point, Williamson has become a potent scorer with an effective three-point shot.
“It’s been pretty amazing,” Casey said. “She does the little things really well. She knows how to get it done. She knows how to win. And certainly that is very special for a coach to see that quality in someone.”
Throughout her career, Williamson has had offensive outbursts to carry the team. In last year’s Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Tournament championship against Westfield State University, Williamson put on an MVP performance with 34 points.
Even with all of her physical attributes giving her a leg up on her opponents, it is not what makes her a force to be reckoned with on the court.
It is something most players facing Williamson never see. Her mindset is incomparable to most players, as once she starts to heat up she can’t be denied.
“Once she gets into that mode and especially when she is scoring and she is in that zone, it is very hard to break her out of it,” Casey said.
Williamson’s mindset dominates everything she does. While scoring is all fun and games to her, it is not what drives her. Being on a short list of players in Bridgewater State history to score 1,000 points is not what Williamson is looking for from her senior season.
She wants to win, and she will do whatever it takes to get there even if she has to sacrifice personal glory for the sake of the team.
Senior guard and captain Elisha Homich has been alongside Williamson throughout her journey. Homich and Williamson both played together at Ludlow High School and for Homich she would not know what to do if Williamson was not a Lady Bear.
“I couldn’t even think about it,” Homich said. “She is such a leader on the court. We definitely need her. She is a big part of scoring and passing. She does everything.”
With all the accomplishments on the court, it is unclear as to why up to this season Williamson has flown under the radar.
Last season, she was overshadowed by the play of Homich and former guard Michaela Cosby. But, Williamson is out front leading the charge this season, and it seems she will get more of the focus from opposing defenses.
“She has had enough games where she shouldn’t sneak up on anybody,” Casey said. “But she still does. I’m still going to go with it and hopefully no one knows about it then that’s great. There are team’s that certainly know about her and still can’t stop her.”
Williamson would like to go unnoticed on the court again. The accolades and milestones have made her stand out though.
She is happy reaching the 1,000-point milestone happened just four games into the season because she just wants to move on. She doesn’t want to think about what could happen if she continues her scoring pace, since she has a chance to become the program’s all-time leading scorer by season’s end.
She only has one thing on her mind, and that is to win.
“It’s a big accomplishment, but we have to win games, it doesn’t really matter how many points I get as long as we keep losing,” Williamson said. “We have to win.”
Greg Dudek is The Comment’s Editor-In-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at gdudek10 or email him at gdudek@student.bridgew.edu.
