All-Arkansas Preps Girls Player of the Year: Lady Mustangs star puts up big numbers in final season

Steve Quattlebaum had never ordered a uniform with a No. 13 before, but along came Christyn Williams and an unusual request.

"I told her nobody wears 13," Quattlebaum said. "I asked her, 'Who do you know wears No. 13?'"

Three years later, Quattlebaum can proudly say that Christyn Williams wore it well.

Williams, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Girls Basketball Player of the Year, put up some of the most impressive numbers ever by an Arkansas athlete. She averaged 26.8 points her senior year, 26.0 points as a junior and 29.1 points as a sophomore. All while wearing No. 13.

Williams sported No. 20 as a freshman at Central Arkansas Christian, but when Quattlebaum put in an order for new uniforms prior to her sophomore year, Williams politely asked for "13."

"The 13th is my sister's birthday and it is a family number," Williams said. "I've always preferred 13 and I've never thought of it as unlucky. And if it was unlucky, I thought I could make it lucky."

She may have also made it unlikely that the number ever be worn again by another CAC athlete. Could No. 13 be retired?

"We've had conversations concerning just that," Quattlebaum said. "We've talked about a Hall of Fame of sorts. We've had several athletes who have deserved it."

Williams has one uniform already hanging in one Hall. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame asked for one of her No. 13s a year ago. It is on display in the Knoxville, Tenn., museum.

Williams will continue to wear No. 13 at Connecticut this fall. She signed with the 11-time national champions in November.

Signing with the Huskies was one of several goals Williams achieved during her last four years. She also had designs of being named as one of the top three players in country, winning a gold medal for the United States, being named to the Naismith team, being selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year from Arkansas for the third consecutive year, playing in the McDonald's All-American Game and helping the Lady Mustangs win the Class 4A state championship. On March 24, Williams was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

"I'm proud of each, but winning the state championship was the one I struggled with the most," said Williams, who was named the tournament's MVP after scoring 42 points in a 68-57 victory over Riverview in the title game.

Williams scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in her first high school game as a freshman. During the 2016 state tournament, Williams scored 41 of her team's 47 points in a quarterfinal victory over Star City. And while her numbers were outstanding, Quattlebaum says the most astonishing thing about Williams was her resiliency.

"She never had a serious injury and that's amazing considering the way she plays," Quattlebaum said. "It's not reckless, but when she gets the ball in her hands and goes to the rim, it's always at full speed."

Sports on 04/01/2018