STARKVILLE — Ameshya Williams would like to forget the events of March 11, 2016.
As a senior, Williams hoped that Friday night would be special. After all of the points, rebounds, and blocked shots earlier in the season, Williams was one victory away from leading the Gulfport West Harrison girls basketball team to a state title.
But all it took was one layup attempt to derail all of that hard work.
In the second quarter against Holmes County Central, Williams was fouled going up for a layup. When the 6-foot-3 forward came down, she rolled her right ankle and landed awkwardly.
Williams finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots, but the injury affected her the rest of the evening and prevented her from being at 100 percent. Nearly four months later, Williams laments not being able to do more for her team in a 58-43 loss in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State title game at Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
“It was the worst part,” Williams said. “It didn’t end like I wanted it to end because I wanted to win it.”
Williams plans on using that missed opportunity to win a championship as motivation as a freshman on the Mississippi State women’s basketball team. Williams and classmate Jacaira Allen, of Dillard (Fla.) High, are the only first-year newcomers to coach Vic Schaefer’s program. They will join junior Roshunda Johnson, who is eligible after sitting out a year following her transfer from Oklahoma State, in an effort to help the Bulldogs build on a program-best 28-8 finish and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament last season.
Williams averaged 24.6 points, 14.2 rebounds, and 3.6 blocked shots per game last season for coach Otis Gates. She was a dominating presence in the postseason, scoring 27 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and blocking eight shots against Ridgeland in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. She had 22 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks in a victory against Hattiesburg in the semifinals.
In the state title game, Williams said the player from Holmes County Central came under her as she went up for the shot and she fell and landed sideways. She said she got up and tried to play through the injury because she wanted to win so badly. Even though she tried to keep going, she knew she wasn’t playing her best.
“I think about that game very often because if we would have won we would have gotten that ring and my name would have been bigger than what it is now,” Williams said. “It would have been a big impact if we won that game. I always will remember that game. It bugs me because I couldn’t play as good as I wanted to.”
Schaefer said MSU knew about Williams when she was a freshman at Gulfport High. He said he and members of his staff watched Williams play Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) ball with current MSU guard Jazzmun Holmes and liked what they saw, so they followed her throughout her high school career. In fact, Schaefer said the Bulldogs tried to get Williams to sign early, but he said she wanted to wait. Williams’ success as a senior — Schaefer said she “blew up and had a great season” — made him a little nervous that another school would win the recruiting battle, but Williams said she always knew she was going to go to MSU. She made it official in March when she committed to the Bulldogs.
“The thing that excites me about Ameshya is when I watched her play in high school she would snatch a rebound and dribble the length of the floor and lay it in,” Schaefer said. “For a 6-3, long, and athletic basketball player to do that in high school is very unusual, and I have seen her do that a lot. That is a piece that excites me because now we have a chance to play at her at power forward. That is the piece that is encouraging.”
Schaefer said Williams’ 6-11 wingspan makes him even more excited about the rebounding and defensive prospects for his front line. With 6-7 Teaira McCowan and 6-5 Chinwe Okorie at center and 6-1 Breanna Richardson and Ketara Chapel at forward, MSU has plenty of size and versatility to mix and match up front.
“She is a lengthy kid who has tremendous athleticism and good timing when she goes and gets rebounds,” Schaefer said. “If we do play her at power forward, it gives us a little more size at that position.”
Williams hopes to use the ankle injury in the state title game as a reminder of how difficult it is to win a championship. She likes the fact that she is part of a program on the rise and that figures to be in the thick of the Southeastern Conference title race in the 2016-17 season and in the years to come. Williams also feels good to be a part of a family. She said she experienced that feeling from her first recruiting visit to the school, so she knew she belonged. Williams didn’t expect it, but now she knows she is part of a group that can help her create some special memories and, possibly, earn some championship hardware.
“Her ability to reach up and get a rebound is very, very pronounced,” Schaefer said. “She is one of those kids who can really do that and has a nose for it. I think she brings something to the table we don’t have. I feel really confidence all three of our new kids can help us continue get better.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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