Williams leads Rock Bridge girls basketball team in victory
COLUMBIA — Amaya Williams proved why she is a two-time all-state guard with college basketball in her future on Friday.
Williams, a senior co-captain, was the leading scorer with 17 points for the Rock Bridge girls basketball team in a 59-47 victory over visiting Glendale. Williams also contributed numerous assists with passes inside to sophomore Carmen Boessen, who scored an additional 14 points for the Bruins (5-1).
"I prefer to make a nice pass than shoot the ball," Williams said. "I would rather have zero points and 20 assists than score a lot. We have a lot of good post players that work hard and get open, so we reward them for that."
However, according to Rock Bridge coach Jill Nagel, Williams excels in more than just basketball.
"We always want our captains to be what we call the epitome of a student athlete and she is," Nagel said. "She takes care of her books in the classroom, she does the right things off the court, she's a good role model for the other kids and she doesn't just say it, she acts it. The kids know that as well and look up to her and respect her."
Williams recently signed on to play for Truman State, but said that basketball is not her top priority.
"School definitely comes before basketball for me, and that's a reason I chose to go to Truman, because their academics are amazing up there and you'll always have your academics," Williams said. "If you get hurt or something, basketball is not always going to be there for you."
Williams has a 3.975 GPA and said she has an idea of what she would like to study in college.
"I'm looking to study psychology and possibly math," she said. "I really like math. I'm kind of a nerd like that."
Sophomore point guard Lindsey Cunningham said that Williams also helps other players with their schoolwork.
"She's really smart, in all the high classes and getting A's in them," Cunningham said. "She helps all of us with our homework because she knows it. She's got it all down."
Cunningham said she also admires Williams as a guard and gets tips from her.
"I definitely look up to her," she said. "She'll stay after practice with me sometimes if I want to work on different things. She's taught me a lot."
According to Cunningham, she, Williams, Boessen and Emily Holt frequently go out to lunch together and hang out outside of practice, and it contributes to their chemistry on the court. She said that she's good friends with Williams for a few different reasons.
"She's just really goofy and she doesn't mind hanging out with us younger classmen and that's really cool," she said. "She's just really cool and likes to chill out."
Though Williams is the team's leader, Nagel said that multiple players helped out in the Bruins' win over the Falcons (4-3).
"She's a senior co-captain stepping up, making some things happen," she said. "But, everybody that came in was contributing and that's what's so awesome about this team ... everybody was ready to go and did their job."
Rock Bridge (5-1) will take on Mexico on Monday at home.