By Mark Gregory
Editorial Director
@Hear_The_Beard
mark@buglenewspapers.com
Coming out of Joliet Catholic Academy, Kaitlyn Williams was recruited by several schools, including the University of St. Francis and then head coach Samantha Quigley-Smith.
After averaging 15 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Angels her senior season, Williams decided on Division-I Loyola University in Chicago.
For the Ramblers her freshman season, Williams played in all 30 games, starting in 26. She was second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.1 points per contest, going 59-for-196 from three-point range. Her D-I high was 19 points in her collegiate debut against Northern Illinois and earned MVC Newcomer of the Week honors. She was fifth in the Missouri Valley in three-point field goal made per game, averaging 2.0 per contest and reached double figures in scoring 11 times on the year.
After her inaugural college season, Williams decided to leave Loyola and transfer to Lewis University, joining the coach that once recruited her.
Joliet Catholic Academy graduate Kaitlyn Williams is a starter with Lewis after playing her freshman season at Loyola. (Photo by Steve Woltmann/Lewis University)
“When I saw that Sam Quigley went to a Division-II program and I live 25 minutes away from here and I am a homebody, it was very nice knowing that all the factors I wanted were at one place and that was the main reason,” said Williams, a Homer Glen native.
Having both played at Joliet Catholic Academy, the two had ties that dated back to Williams’ middle-school days.
“I have known Sam since maybe my seventh grade year when I attended Doug Bruno camps and she worked them because she was just graduating DePaul,” Williams said. “Then in high school, she recruited me to St. Francis.”
Although she came in from a D-I program, Williams said she does not feel any pressure to perform at a higher level – at least not from her teammates.
“I have fit in pretty well. My teammates made me feel super welcome. I put a lot of expectations on myself, but my teammates don’t put pressure on me to perform,” she said. “It is crazy how well we do blend with each other and our practices are so good. Our bench contributes just like the starters do and we have depth all the way to the 14th player and we need all 14 to get where we want to do.
This season for the Flyers, Williams has started all 17 games. She averages 6.2 points per game and has hit 28 of 69 from three-point land to go along with 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
Along with her talent, Williams also brings experience to the Lewis roster.
“When you have players that transfer that have college basketball playing experience, that intensity is already there.” Quigley-Smith said. “Not that incoming freshmen don’t have that – but she is coming from the Division-I level and played in a tough league and played a lot of minutes and she is making an immediate impact. Just the fact that she can shoot the basketball from three stretches out their defense makes this a little easier. Shooting the ball from three helps us tremendously and takes pressure off the bigs.”
One of those post players is senior Jessica Kelliher who leads the Flyers with 23.7 points per game and is less than 100 points away from becoming the Great Lakes Valley Conference all-time leading scorer.
Williams sat out last season after her transfer and expects to be an integrel part in the Flyers’ success the remaining years of eligibility.
“I am super happy that I made the decision to come here,” she said.