Although she is a sophomore, this student athlete became a team captain of the Crenshaw girls’ basketball team this past season.
“It’s great to be a leader to people that look up to you,” said point guard Emoddieshae Williams. “I never thought I’d be a captain.”
Williams believes that her work ethic was the reason why she was elected captain.
“I practice hard, I work hard,” she said. “They feel like they can do the same thing and they can look up to me.”
As one of three sophomores on the Cougars varsity squad, Williams averaged 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, helping the team dominate the Coliseum League with a 12-0 record.
She noted how battling in an away game against View Park gave her one of the biggest lessons she learned during the season. Williams would score 12 points in the contest.
“Our main captain got injures and somebody had to step up and take that role,” Williams said. “It really took a lot of pride. It was a lot to learn too and it’s pretty frustrating.”
Williams has a 3.0 GPA and mentioned how Math and English classes help her the most with playing basketball but her favorite class is Biology.
“I love to learn, it’s great.” Williams said. “A lot of experiments, just learning new things.”
In a game against Manual Arts in late January, Williams scored a season high of 25 points. Crenshaw girls’ basketball coach Dominique Harris has advised her about the importance of perseverance.
“Coach Harris, she told me don’t ever give up because sometimes I struggle,” Williams said. “She tells me to ‘keep your head up and keep pushing through it.’”
Williams also has experience running track and playing flag football. She began playing basketball during her middle school years.
“One day in the seventh grade, I just [saw] the boys play and I was like ‘I want to play, I just want to see how basketball works,’” Williams said. “My brothers taught me how to play basketball.”
Her advice to upcoming student athletes is to prioritize academics.
“Education is most important because without an education, you’re not gonna play basketball,” Williams said. “Education and worry about basketball later.”
