CAC’s team effort helps top Robinson

This star has light to spare. Central Arkansas Christian Lady Mustangs senior guard Christyn Williams said she knows basketball is a team sport, and though she has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for Connecticut, winners of 11 NCAA championships since 1995, she needs help to reach her immediate goal.

She got plenty in CAC’s 6321 victory over the Joe T. Robinson Lady Senators at Senator Gymnasium in Little Rock on Friday night.

Williams and senior forward Jenna Davis each scored 14 points to lead CAC (17-1, 6-0 4A/3A-9) to its mercy-rule victory. Senior point guard Kelson Miller scored 11. Five other CAC players scored four or more points.

“It helps to have the good players around me that I have,” Williams said. “You can’t win by yourself.”

“We have a group of seniors that we brought up as ninth graders, and that was good experience for them,” CAC Coach Steve Quattlebaum said. “Now they’re pretty seasoned, and teams can’t just concentrate on Christyn anymore.”

Freshman guard Alex Rouse led Robinson (5-6, 2-3) with 11 points.

CAC lost in the Class 4A state finals in 2016 and in the quarterfinals last season. Contentment this season for CAC’s girls relies on a championship outcome.

“This is our last go-around, so winning the championship is very important,” Williams said. “We’re all on the same page that this is our year to do it.”

“We’re pretty committed to getting it done this year,” Quattlebaum said.

Robinson Coach Ahmann Love said CAC’s depth of talent makes it difficult to design plans to stop Williams.

“It’s too hard to try to plan to contain someone who’s that good, especially when they have people around them who are also very good,” Love said. “I mean, they have three or four other players who compliment her very well. There’s no way you can game plan for one player when they have that many good players who are all coached by a very good coach.”

CAC’s rout was on early. Williams opened the scoring with a layup in the first minute. Her three-point play gave CAC an 8-2 lead with 4:20 left in the first quarter, but multiple layups by Miller and a three-pointer by Davis gave CAC a 20-2 lead to start the second quarter.

CAC led 38-6 at halftime, and its 57-13 lead at the end of the third quarter led to the mercy rule’s non-stop clock throughout the fourth.