ATLANTA – From leading Central Arkansas Christian (Little Rock, Ark.), to a state title to being surprised by Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne with the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year award, Christyn Williams has been on a whirlwind over the last month.
“It’s been so exciting,” said Williams, a Connecticut signee. “I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at and just to see everything paying off has been awesome.”
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Williams’ accolades kept rolling Wednesday night when she earned MVP of the McDonald’s All American Game after scoring 22 points and snagging 12 rebounds to lead the West past the East 82-79 Wednesday at Phillips Arena.
“I just wanted to come out, play hard and have fun,” Williams said. “I’m just happy we got the win.”
Travis (Houston) forward Queen Egbo, a Baylor signee, chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds for the West. Trinity Valley (Fort Worth, Texas) guard Madison Williams, an Oklahoma signee, led the East with 13 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
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Christyn made her mark early, draining all four of her three-pointers and scoring 16 points to give the West a 47-40 lead at the half.
The West went cold from three in the second half missing on all eight attempts, but Egbo’s presence and eight steals helped the West build a 10-point lead.
Christyn was close to breaking Sabrina Ionesc’s s scoring record (25 points in 2016), but said she was more concerned with securing the win.
“I didn’t know until the end of the fourth quarter that I was close to getting it,” Williams said. “I was more worried about winning more than scoring four more points. I’m so grateful for this entire experience. This is a dream, and I thank everybody that has helped me along the way. I appreciate them because I wouldn’t be here without them.”
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