MANHATTAN – On May 20, 2019, K-State sports announced Kansas State rising senior Peyton Williams was selected for the 2019 U.S. Pan American Games Women’s Basketball Team after a stellar showing at the team trials on May 16-20 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
She returned to Colorado Springs earlier this week for training camp leading up to the games taking place Aug. 6-10 in Lima, Peru.
Williams is the second K-State player to be selected for a U.S. Pan American Games team and the first since Laurie Koehn in 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This will be Williams’s first experience representing the US in an international event.
The 2019 U.S. Pan American Games Team roster features 12-members. In addition to Williams, the other 11 players are: Bella Alarie (Princeton), Brittany Brewer (Texas Tech), Chennedy Carter (Texas A&M), Kathleen Doyle (Iowa), Tyasha Harris (South Carolina), Taylor Mikesell (Maryland), Beatrice Mompremier (Miami), Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA), Mikayla Pivec (Oregon State), Lindsey Pulliam (Northwestern) and Kiana Williams (Stanford).
The 12-member team will return to Colorado Springs for training camp, July 23-Aug. 5, before competing in the women’s basketball tournament at the 2019 Pan American Games.
The team will be guided by Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant and assisted by Buffalo head coach Felisha Legette-Jack and Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer.
Williams, a preseason candidate for the 2019 Katrina McClain Award given to the nation’s top power forward, increased her scoring average for the third straight season and led the Wildcats with 15.5 points per game (496 points) and free throw percentage (.833) in the 2018-19 season. She was the third player in program history to register 475 or more points and 300 or more rebounds in a single season.
Williams, an All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2019, completed her junior season with a career-high 303 rebounds (9.5 rpg). Williams led all players in the Big 12 for rebound percentage at 26.6 percent. Her rebounding total in the 2018-19 season ranked fourth in program history for a single season and were the most since Nicole Ohlde pulled in a junior season record 306 rebounds in the 2002-03 season.
Williams finished Big 12 play by averaging a double-double with 16.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. She is the first Wildcat to average a double-double in league play since Kendra Wecker in the 2004-05 season.
She carded a career-high and Big 12 best 14 double-doubles in the 2018-19 season. Her 14 double-doubles rank tied for third in school history for double-doubles in a single season.
In addition to being named to the All-Big 12 First Team, Williams was the second player in program history to garner Big 12 All-Defensive Team honors, joining former teammate and three-Todde Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection Breanna Lewis. Williams recorded 37 blocks and a career-high 62 steals in the 2018-19 season. She ranked among the top-15 in the Big 12 in steals per game (fourth; 1.9) and blocks per game (11th; 1.2).
