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The Atlantic Coast Conference named Syracuse guard Priscilla Williams the Freshman of the Week on Monday. The 6-foot-2 freshman is the first SU player to earn the weekly honor since current redshirt junior Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi in 2018. 

Williams notched 26 points on 9-of-9 from the field with six 3-pointers as No. 23 Syracuse (6-1, 3-1 ACC) defeated Miami 99-64 over the weekend. Her perfect shooting performance tied a program record, aided by the Orange’s season-high 28 assists as a team. 

“We did a really good job sharing the ball,” Williams said postgame, “And of course, my teammates got me all open, which allowed me to shoot the ball.” 

After Williams’ debut on Nov. 29 against Stony Brook, where she had two points, five rebounds and an assist, head coach Quentin Hillsman hinted that “maybe playing her more minutes is the answer.” Now, in the two games Williams played more than 20 minutes, she’s totaled more than 20 points, first against Division-II Lincoln (24) and now the Hurricanes.

Williams came to Syracuse as one of two ESPN 100 top-10 recruits in SU’s 2020 class, along with center Kamilla Cardoso. While the latter has yet to garner ACC recognition, Cardoso is eighth in the conference in rebounds (8.3) and 11th in points per game (15.6), and her 63.9% field goal percentage is an ACC-best. Both players have started SU’s last six games. 

After Sunday’s 6-of-6 shooting performance from beyond the arc, Williams now leads the conference with a 50% mark from 3-point range. The program record for a season is 41.3%, set by Lauren Kohn in 2004-05 .

Published on January 18, 2021 at 5:05 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu