A 2021 USF Hall of Fame inductee, Williams will make her first appearance in the WNBA’s marquee event.
TAMPA (July 2, 2021) –University of South Florida women’s basketball great, and current Atlanta Dream guard, Courtney Williams, has been named to the 2021 AT&T WNBA All-Star Team, marking the first time she has been selected to play among the league’s elite. Williams is averaging 17.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists in 35.1 minutes per game this season.
AT&T WNBA All-Star 2021, to be played Wednesday, July 14 at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, will showcase the WNBA’s biggest and brightest stars under one roof when the WNBA’s top talent squares off against one another in a clash between WNBA All-Stars versus the USA Basketball Women’s National Team voted-in as part of a combination of fan, player, media, and coach voting. The 17th WNBA All-Star Game will be broadcast live by ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.
A 2016 WBCA First Team All-American and two-time honorable mention All-American by both the WBCA (2014-15) and Associated Press (2015-16), Williams left an indelible mark on the USF women’s basketball program as she helped lead the team to four straight 20-win seasons, four postseason appearances (including three NCAA Tournament second-round appearances and a WNIT semifinal appearance) and a 96-42 record (69.5 winning percentage) during her four-year career. She will be inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 13.
Williams was named a first-team all-conference selection and an all-tournament selection at the American Conference Tournament three times. She also earned first-team all-region honors three times and was named the 2016 American Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The only player in program history to record 2,000 points (2,304), 900 rebounds (931), and 300 assists (318), Williams ranks second on the career scoring chart, third in rebounds, ninth in assists, seventh in blocks (93) and second in career games played (138). Her career scoring average of 16.7 ppg is fourth in program history as she led the Bulls in scoring in three straight seasons, steals twice, and assists once.
Williams set the USF season scoring record with 763 points in 2015-16, breaking her own mark of 710 points set in 2014-15 as she led the Bulls to a program record 27 wins. She recorded eight 30-point games during her career, including a career-best 35 vs. Temple in 2014.
Williams was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury and went on to a successful WNBA career, including a three-year run with the Connecticut Sun that culminated with her averaging 17.9 ppg in the playoffs as the Sun won the Conference Finals and went on to the WNBA Finals in 2019. Williams was traded to the Atlanta Dream in 2020.
A sixth-year player now in her second season with the Dream, Williams will represent Atlanta in her All-Star debut. One year after leading the league’s guards in rebounding (7.2 rpg), Williams, who has increased her scoring output each season, is averaging a career-high 17.1 ppg.
The 2021 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game is one of many key elements of the celebration of the WNBA’s 25th season, which will continue to recognize the incredible achievements of players to date while also serving as a celebratory send-off of the WNBA players who will compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
As part of the league’s 25th season celebrations, the WNBA will also honor the gold-medal winning 1996 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team with a special presentation during the game highlighting the impact the team had on women’s sports and the role it played in launching the WNBA.
This past season, USF posted a 19-4 overall record, and a 12-2 mark in The American, and capped off an unprecedented season with its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, and its sixth trip to the Big Dance in the last nine years. The Green and Gold finished the year ranked No. 19 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, and rose to as high as No. 12 in the AP poll on Feb. 15, USF’s highest ranking ever.
Included in their 19 wins are a thrilling 67-63 overtime victory over No. 6 Mississippi State, the highest-ranked team the Bulls have ever defeated, and two victories over rival UCF. The first win against the Knights secured the regular-season crown on March 2 (W, 65-62) and the second the AAC Tournament crown on March 11 (W, 64-54).
USF defeated Washington State, 57-53, in the NCAA Tournament first round for its first tournament win since March 19, 2016, when it defeated Colorado State, 48-45.
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USF has recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll, reaching as high as No. 12.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and won more than 380 games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, Fernandez was named a finalist for the WBCA and semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Awards. He was also tabbed the 2021 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
Also, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
– #GoBulls –
