Shanee Williams had nowhere to go. The junior guard was hounded by the Long Beach State defense as she dribbled toward the basket. Unable to get to the hoop, Williams didn’t force the issue.

Instead, she stopped, deftly went behind her back and lofted a pass into the paint. There, a trailing Kayla Alexander plucked the pass out of the air and finished a layup to get Syracuse on the board 30 seconds into the game.

In her first action for the Orange, the junior college transfer quickly demonstrated her playmaking ability.

‘I think that her athleticism and her knowledge of basketball allows her to get through a lot of situations that a lot of players wouldn’t get through,’ SU head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘She really understands the game, and she’s played basketball pretty much all of her life.’

Williams brings her understanding of the game to Syracuse (1-0) this season after spending two years at two junior colleges. She earned a spot in the starting lineup at shooting guard to start the season and played 14 minutes in the Orange’s season opener against Long Beach State on Sunday. Though she didn’t see the floor for long stretches, Williams played under control and made good decisions with the ball, turning it over just once.

For a Syracuse team that committed 28 turnovers against the 49ers, Williams’ steady play and calm demeanor on the floor was evident.

Williams developed that court presence as a freshman at Monroe Community College in Rochester and during her sophomore season at Monroe College in the Bronx. After a standout career as a scorer at Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, Williams transitioned from shooting guard to point guard in junior college when her coaches felt the 5-foot-7 guard was too small to continue playing off the ball. After moving from one Monroe to another — because she was homesick — Williams grew into that role and led the Bronx’s Monroe College to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Women’s Basketball national championship.

The junior, who averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 assists per games last year, said she was nervous to play point guard at first, but eventually gained confidence in the role.

‘I really felt comfortable playing, handling the ball, because I feel like I got control of the game, and I can see the floor,’ Williams said. ‘So I knew who was open, I knew who can shoot, I knew what we can do as a team.’

With Williams directing the Mustangs, they finished the regular season 25-5 and entered the 2011 NJCAA Women’s Basketball National Tournament as the No. 11 seed out of 16. Williams and Monroe shocked the rest of the field as they advanced to the national championship game against No. 1 Pima (Ariz.) Community College in Peoria, Ill.

Monroe head coach Seth Goodman said his team was still searching for its first field goal two and a half minutes into the game.

So he turned to Williams, the star of the team, to break the Mustangs’ scoring drought.

Monroe ran a pick and roll at the top of the key for Williams, giving her an opportunity to make a play with the ball in her hands. When her defender went under the screen to cut off her driving lane, Williams took a dribble and pulled back to knock down a jumper from just inside the 3-point line.

‘I think the girls were a little nervous,’ Goodman said. ‘She made a tough shot and that kind of got us going a little bit.’

After that first shot went down, Monroe controlled othe game and took a six-point halftime lead. And when Pima threatened late in the second half, Goodman said Williams rose to the occasion again, hitting a couple of big shots to keep the Mustangs out in front.

Williams said the last play of the game will be her lasting memory from the championship run. Pima fouled her to send her to the line, and she knocked down both free throws to ice Monroe’s 78-74 victory.

It was after that championship run that Williams finally felt confident as a point guard. And she will need that confidence as she makes the transition to the Division-I level.

‘I’m not that person that’s outspoken,’ Williams said. ‘I let my dribbling, my shooting, whatever I can do on the court do the talking for me.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on November 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu