Sophomore guard Jayla Williams has helped the 13th-ranked Ankeny girls’ basketball team to a 2-0 start.
Williams scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Hawkettes’ 60-55 overtime victory against No. 6 Cedar Falls on Tuesday at Ankeny. She is averaging 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game.
Here is some inside info on Williams:
How was your Thanksgiving? Did you do anything special?
My thanksgiving was good. I went over to my friend Amani’s with my mom and brother.
What do you think the win over Cedar Falls will do for your squad’s confidence?
I think beating Cedar Falls gives us motivation to beat other big CIML teams because they were ranked almost in the top five.
Your teammate, Karsen Jacks, scored 23 of her career-high 30 points after halftime. What can you say about her performance?
Karsen played so well, especially when we needed it the most. In the end of the (fourth quarter) she got us into overtime, and she also hit big free throws once we were in OT.
Cedar Falls boasts two of the state’s best players in Grace Knutson and Karis Finley, and you played a big role on defense in trying to contain them. How were you trying to defend them?
We were just trying to keep those two off the 3-point line mostly.
You scored a career-high 28 points in a season-opening win at Spencer on Nov. 18. Are you trying to take on a larger offensive role this season, especially with teammate Savannah Gage still out of the lineup while she recovers from an ACL injury?
I want whatever role will help my team the most, whether that’s me locking down the other team’s best player or if that’s having me trying to score the ball. I’ll do whatever will help us win.
Your team has a brutal schedule coming up–your first six games in CIML Conference play will be on the road against ranked opponents. What will be the key for your squad to survive that gauntlet?
For us to get through the tough games coming up, we just need to try and play together and get the ball to whoever is hot like we did against Cedar Falls, when Karsen kept getting the ball and kept scoring it for us.
Your team will travel to Waukee on Tuesday to face the No. 8 Warriors in your conference opener. That’s a team with a lot of experience, so what will your squad have to do to come away with the victory?
To beat Waukee we will just have to play good defense because they have people who can shoot and get to the rim, so not letting them kill us on offense will help us out a lot.
Then your team will go to Johnston on Friday to play the No. 1 Dragons, who boast four of the state’s top 17 players according to The Des Moines Register’s preseason list of the top 50 players. Do you feel like that’s a game where you guys have nothing to lose, because nobody probably expects you to win?
Yeah, we honestly don’t really have much to lose so we just need to play and do what we can and we will hopefully see a result nobody thinks will happen.
You were No. 6 on The Register’s preseason list. What did you think when you saw those rankings, and do you think it will put a target on your team’s back?
I’m sure every team right now has a target on their backs because every team in this conference is just so good.
I know you picked up a lot of Division I offers in the offseason. Can you list the schools that have offered you?
I have offers from St. Thomas, Illinois State, Colorado State, Wisconsin, Marquette, Green Bay, Bowling Green, Minnesota, Iowa State and Kansas State.
Do you have a timetable for making a decision? Would you like to get it out of the way, or are you not in a hurry?
I don’t know where I want to go yet. There are some (schools) that show lots more interest in me than others, which is important. But I don’t have a time I want to commit by, and I’m not in any hurry. I just want to go wherever feels like they want me the most and whatever feels most like home to me.
