After missing the previous season with an injured knee, Rudder High School graduate Ke'Asia Williams (Bryan) improved enough upon her return to earn the 2017 Don Wilhelm Award as the Blinn College women's basketball most valuable player.
"You never know what to expect from a player coming off a knee injury, but she had a great season," said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach. "Ke'Asia led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding for us."
As a redshirt freshman, Williams led the Buccaneers with 13.2 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding with 8.3 per game. Williams is only the second freshman to receive the Wilhelm Award as a freshman and the third player from Bryan to win the award. Fatima Adams and Tilmila Martin were the other two players from Bryan to win the award.
"The knee injury cost me a whole year and when I came back, Coach Jenkins expected me to be one of the top players this season," Williams said. "It was a lot of pain and hard work to battle back from that injury."
The Wilhelm Award is named after former Blinn College athletic director Don Wilhelm, an NJCAA Hall of Famer who served the college for 10 years.
The Buccaneers finished the 2016-17 season with a 19-12 record and reached the Region XIV quarterfinals. Williams will return to play for Blinn in the 2017-18 season.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,422 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
