Fifth-year women’s basketball star makes mark in Kingston

Chanell Williams gifts Rhody with talent, speed

Fresh off her 1,000th point, Chanell Williams’s sportsmanship and contributions have been valuable to the URI women’s basketball team. PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Clark

After a loss in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals to close out last season, University of Rhode Island women’s basketball coach Tammi Reiss knew she had to bring in a high-flying playmaker who could impact both sides of the ball. 

“I wanted someone like me,” Reiss said.

Enter Chanell Williams.

The dynamic point guard spent her first four years at Providence College, where she scored 817 points over 118 games. But after the 2020-2021 season, Williams found herself at a crossroads with an important decision in front of her. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all student-athletes, including Williams, were granted an extra year of eligibility. Wanting to get a fresh start, she looked down the road to Kingston and URI.

“I feel like in [Providence] the last four years, I’ve paid my dues,” she said. “But I felt like it was best to find somewhere else where I can impact the team. And URI was the best option for me.”

Like the other transfers on the team, Williams was drawn to the culture established by Reiss. The emphasis on a champion-first mentality is something that stuck with the fifth-year player.

“Coach Reiss talked to me about what player I want to be and who I want to be,” Williams said. “From the jump, we all said we wanted to be champions.”

From a team standpoint, Williams was a player that Reiss was eager to bring on board this season. After having limited depth at the guard spot last season, Williams brought a new spark of energy to the team that they had not had in Reiss’s first two seasons.

“I want someone who can battle until the horn goes off and that’s what she brings us,” Reiss said. “That’s Chan, she’s a dog.”

Growing up, one of the players Williams idolized the most was the NBA’s Russell Westbrook. As she got older, she would receive more and more comparisons with the star player because of their similar style of speed and energy. She eventually earned the nickname “Baby Westbrook,” which the young Williams considered an honor.

“As I was coming up, I started to figure out ‘how can I play like him?’” she said. “I just think we’re very alike.”

This season has also proved to be one of her best from an individual standpoint. On Feb. 9 at Saint Joseph’s University, she reached the 1,000-point milestone — a feat she was not even aware of until shortly before that game.

“The point guards, not many of us hit that mark,” Williams said. “It’s an honor and a blessing.”

Prior to Wednesday’s matchup against Dayton, Williams has put up solid figures for the Rams, averaging 8.5 points per game while also leading the team with 43 steals. However, one of her most impressive figures comes in one of the calmer areas of the game: free throws.

At 89.8 percent, Williams is nearly automatic from the charity stripe. When it comes to making foul shots, she says repetition and constant practice are the biggest keys.

“I always tell my teammates, ‘you’ve got to count your pennies, you’ve got to get them when you can,’” she said. “[I] definitely try to work on that every day in practice, before practice, after practice, and it’s all worth it.”

With conference play beginning to wind down, the experienced point guard knows it’s important to not look too far ahead. While winning might feel good, she believes it’s important to never lose sight of the next team on the schedule.

“We’ve got to keep believing, we’ve gotta keep pushing forward,” Williams said. “This game was good in all, but we’ve got somebody else to beat.”