Williams finishes with double-double; SOTA girls get first-round win

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Ny Lewis didn’t want her School of the Arts girls’ basketball team to give their opponents a chance for a story-book finish.

Maya Williams made sure her coach’s wish was honored.

Williams led three in double figures and posted a double-double as the Silverhawks defeated RCAC rival, Edison Tech, 59-11 in the Section V Class AA opening-round action, Wednesday afternoon.

“Usually when she gets a double-double, we end up doing pretty well,” Lewis said of the junior center.

Williams finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds on the day. She connected three times from the floor including one 3-pointer and scored seven points in the second quarter.

Maya Williams finishes inside. SOTA is cruising in Class AA first-round action. pic.twitter.com/3Xn7k1pKzv

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2022

“She’s a beast inside there. Not many people can stop her. She just needs to stay focused.”

Teammate Nykerriah Wilson netted 10 of her game-high 19 points in the first quarter when SOTA grabbed a commanding 20-4 lead.

Son’ger MccCullough added six of her 13 points in the opening stanza.

Steal and bucket, Nykerriah Wilson pic.twitter.com/YLwshBu4vs

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 23, 2022

The win came against an Edison team that SOTA had already beaten twice during the regular season. Lewis made sure complacency did not become a factor in the game.

“We kinda switched up the drills a little bit to keep the intensity up. We didn’t do our regular warm-up.”

The third-year coach also reminded her team that the Inventors would like nothing more than to advance in sectionals at SOTA’s expense.

“We told them how ‘you hear about those fun Cinderella teams. We can’t let them be one of those teams today.'”

Adrienna Lisai added seven points for SOTA. Precious Grant had four points, and Briana Williams scored two.

SOTA will play second-seeded Fairport in the AA quarter-finals on Saturday.

Chastity Edwards scored four points to lead the Edison offense. Lynia Taylor had three while Tahiri Rodriguez and Quanayzia Carter contributed two points apiece.