The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Defensive stopper
UConn will rely on Williams to contain Iowa’s Caitlin Clark
SAN ANTONIO — It’s March. “Do or die time,” as Christyn Williams calls it.
Williams, a junior guard, needs no reminder about what’s at stake. She’s been to the NCAA Tournament before. Not just this year, but as a freshman in 2019.
So much has changed since then, though. Williams, a former No. 1 recruit, is older, more mature, and has come to embrace the totality of the game. No longer just a scorer, she’s transformed in ways some never thought was possible.
“We sometimes have unrealistic expectations for players,” UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey said this week. “As coaches, as reporters, as fans, we have a certain idea of what they should do. Sometimes it takes players longer to figure it out, sometimes it takes them less time to figure it out. Everybody has their own timetable. As long as they figure it out, that’s the most important thing.”
Williams figures to be put to the test again on Saturday (1 p.m., ABC) at the Alamodome when No. 1 UConn (26-1) faces fifth-seeded Iowa (20-9) in the Sweet 16. An emerging defensive stopper, Williams will likely be tasked with guarding sensational freshman Caitlin Clark, who leads the nation in scoring at 26.7 points per game.
“She’s really good,” Williams said. “She’s a sharpshooter. She moves well without the ball, and that’s what makes her so dangerous. But I’m excited for the matchup. I’m embracing this role on this team.”
Williams’ on-ball defense has really turned heads of late. She did some of her finest work in the Big East Tournament, shutting down St. John’s Leilani Correa, Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist and Marquette’s Selena Lott on consecutive days. The trio combined for just 12 points on 5 of 33 shooting.
“She’s a physical defender,” Dailey said. “I think she is getting better at making the people she’s guarding do things that they don’t necessarily want to do, or at least limit them from going to their strength. She’s learning and studying the game, studying opponents and tendencies and things like that.
“You’re not going to hold someone scoreless, but to limit how they score and the way they like to score, I think that’s … something she’s really latched on to.”
Dailey recalled conversations NBA legend Kobe Bryant had with UConn players over the years about embracing all aspects of the sport.
“For someone at his level to do that, younger players need to start developing that same kind of identity like, ‘Hey, I have to get better in a lot of different areas both offensively and defensively,’ ” Dailey said. “For Christyn — and lot of the young players — to embrace the totality of being a basketball player as opposed to being a scorer or shooting the ball all the time, I think that’s part of the growth … that college allows you to do.”
Williams has bought in, so to speak. But why now? Williams isn’t just more experienced, she’s also wiser and understanding of where she is in her UConn career. She only has so much time left as a Husky.
“(Head coach Geno Auriemma) is always on me about defense,” Williams said. “And it’s March, you know. It’s tournament time; it’s do or die right now. … We have a sense of urgency, and it starts on the defensive end.”
By focusing more on defense, Williams’ offense has also picked up. She is averaging a career-high 15.5 points and is shooting 48.2%.
Williams averaged 18.6 points in the conference tournament and has been efficient through the first two rounds in San Antonio — comfortable wins over 16th-seeded High Point (13 points on 5-9 shooting) and eighth-seeded Syracuse (11 on 4-9).
The Huskies (26-1) have been to the Elite Eight 12 consecutive times, but they’ll need to slow down one of the nation’s most proficient offenses in order to extend that streak. Iowa ranks second in scoring (86.6) and leads the country in 3-point shooting (40.7%).
“They look like they can score 100 every night,” Auriemma said.
Clark, a Second Team AP All-American, poured in 35 points in a second-round victory over Kentucky — her 12th 30-point game of the season. She’s as dynamic an offensive force as UConn’s seen since Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee, who exploded for 37 points in the Huskies’ lone loss on Jan. 28.
Can the Huskies stop her? That’ll be up to Williams.