Williams Named OUA Player of the Year

Author: Hugh Mullally

The OUA announced their major award winners for women’s basketball on Wednesday.

It came as no surprise that Lakehead ‘s record breaking shooting guard Jylisa Williams was unanimously voted as the OUA’s Player of the Year. As such she is also a first-team all-star for the second year in a row.

This season Williams averaged an OUA and CIS leading 28.8 points per game, set a new OUA single-season points record with 548, and broke the OUA single-game points record when she scored 50 against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Feb. 6.

Along with her prolific scoring, Williams was a valuable contributor in all aspects of the game, leading the conference with 4.0 steals per game, finished second averaging 9.3 rebounds, and seventh in assists per game with 3.4. Her play was also a primary reason the Thunderwolves had so much team success, finishing the season ranked ninth in the CIS Top 10 with a 14-5 record.

Coach Jon Kreiner:

“I am so proud of all that Jylisa has accomplished this year. She has elevated our team to national calibre status and has done that with an all-around game. Jylisa is a true leader, she makes my job easy. She pushes her teammates and they respond by working harder. Jylisa has been multidimensional for us, she can score in many ways but she is also our best defender and rebounder. She is always a great passer with a great IQ who can read a defence and make the right play. The greatest thing about Jylisa is that as good as she has been, she is extremely unselfish and humble.”

OUA Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: Jylisa Williams – Lakehead Thunderwolves
Defensive Player of the Year: Korissa Williams – Windsor Lancers
Rookie of the Year: Bridget Atkinson – Guelph Gryphons
Joy Bellinger Award: Lee Anna Osei – Laurier Golden Hawks
Tracy McLeod Award: Kellie Ring – Ottawa Gee-Gees
Coach of the Year: Chantal Vallee – Windsor Lancers

OUA First-Team All-Stars
Jylisa Williams – Lakehead Thunderwolves
Korissa Williams – Windsor Lancers
Whitney Ellenor – Laurier Golden Hawks
Danielle Boiago – McMaster Marauders
Keneca Pingue-Giles – Ryerson Rams
Jill Stratton – Toronto Varsity Blues
Stephanie MacDonald – Ottawa Gee-Gees
Katherine MacTavish – Guelph Gryphons
Jenny Wright – Queen’s Gaels
Cheyanne Roger – Windsor Lancers

OUA Second-Team All-Stars
Lindsay Shotbolt– Carleton Ravens
Clare Kenney – McMaster Marauders
Mariah Nunes – Ryerson Rams
Liz Boag – Queen’s Gaels
Krista Van Slingerland – Ottawa Gee-Gees
Lee Anna Osei – Laurier Golden Hawks
Caroline Wolynski – Western Mustangs
Bridget Atkinson – Guelph Gryphons
Jocelyn Larocque – Windsor Lancers
Hilary Hanaka – McMaster Marauders

OUA All-Rookie Team
Bridget Atkinson – Guelph Gryphons
Hilary Hanaka – McMaster Marauders
Melissa Tatti – Brock Badgers
Sofia Paska – Ryerson Rams
Maddy Horst – Western Mustangs
Amy Jarvis – Waterloo Warriors
Cara Tiemens – Ryerson Rams
Carly Steer – Windsor Lancers
Elizabeth Leblanc – Carleton Ravens
Linnaea Harper – McMaster Marauders