Williams Tabbed Freshman of the Year, Lands Bevy of Postseason Honors

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MACON, Ga. – After finishing the regular season as the Atlantic Sun’s leading scorer, Mercer freshman Briana Williams was selected as the conference Freshman of the Year in a announcement made by the league office Tuesday.  Williams also garnered spots on the All-Conference second-team and all-freshman teams.

“Any time a freshman leads the league in scoring, she is worthy of Freshman of the Year,” Mercer head coach Susie Gardner said. “At first she came in as an unknown, but as the season progressed she started facing the opponent’s toughest defenders.  She still found ways to hit huge shots and when the game was on the line I was still going to her.”

The honor marked the first time in program history a player earned the top award for freshmen in the conference and was Mercer’s first newcomer on the All-Freshman team since Sarah Russell was recognized following the 2003-04 season.

“She’s certainly a great scorer, but she also made great strides in other areas of her game,” Gardner said.  “She progressed so much and it will be exciting to see how much better she will be when she continues to learn the college game.”

During the regular season, Williams collected 522 points in 29 games, an average of 18 points per contest.  The McDonough, Ga. native currently ranks 37^th in the nation in scoring and holds the second-highest scoring average among Division I freshmen.  Only UT Martin’s Heather Butler (19.0 ppg) averages more points per game.

Williams’ freshman campaign featured many dazzling performances, including four games in which she topped the 30-point barrier.  Williams finished the regular season with the two highest scoring totals for A-Sun players – a 41-point outburst against Jacksonville on Jan. 24 and a 35-point showing at Campbell on Feb. 5.

All told, Williams reached double figures in the scoring column in 25 of Mercer’s 29 games, including eight occasions in which she scored 20 or more.

In her first year, Williams was named Player of the Week once (Dec. 7) and Newcomer of the Week twice (Nov. 23, Jan. 25).

Williams also etched her name in the Mercer single-season record books, ranking fourth in three-point field goals made (63) and second in three-point field goals attempted (211).

“I’m super excited for her and for the future of our program,” Gardner said.  “Brittnee Hazel and Alex Phillips also did a good job of stepping up and helping us offensively, but when we bring in our new players next year we will have more than just three.”

“Many times when you are tabbed with honors early in your career it drives you to do more,” Gardner said.  “Now every time an opponent scouts us, they will say that girl was the Freshman of the Year.”