March is Women’s History Month and you cannot get far talking about women’s history in Wolverine athletics without bringing up Josie Williams. The junior went on a tear this season averaging a double-double and helping lead the Wolverines to the Hercules Tire WAC Tournament semi-final, where she scored 12 points and grabbed 15 boards in the loss to No. 1 seeded Stephen F Austin.
“I think we have a lot to work on and if we work on it in the offseason it is going to be a really fun year next year,” Williams said following the loss. “The biggest difference between last year and this year was just consistency, I think I was a lot more consistent this year.”
Despite falling short of the team’s goal to reach another NCAA Tournament and claim the WAC Tournament Championship, Williams had nothing short of a historic season. She was tied for third in the NCAA with 24 double-doubles on the season. Williams wrapped up her junior campaign with the Wolverines averaging career highs in points and rebounds at 17.3 PPG and 12.4 RPG.
“Looking forward to next year I hope to be able to do the same thing but more effective,” said Williams.
Williams garnered multiple awards and achievements throughout the season, including an All-WAC First Team selection for the second straight season, two-time WAC Player of the Week and she crossed the 1,000 point scoring mark in her career as a Wolverine. Williams also posted career-highs in scoring in back-to-back games with 28 points against Seattle U and 31 points against Cal Baptist.
“What she has done this year is crazy,” said head coach Dan Nielson. “At our level, there is not a lot of people like her. Every team we play is based on stopping her…she gets fouled every time she posts up and she fights through it, doesn’t complain, still rebounds, still posts up, and is really good defensively. I am so proud of the work she has put in this year.”
Williams will return for her senior season in 2022-23 as Nielson’s Wolverine squad looks positioned to sit among the top teams in the WAC and compete for a championship.
