With the many wins came a spot in the NTL Showdown final for the first time ever and the No. 4 seed in the District 4 3A playoffs. The Warriors lost both the Showdown final .. to large school champ Troy .. and their first round playoff game to Bloomsburg to bring their memorable season to an end. 

“The season ended earlier than we had all hoped,” says Allen, “ but we’re all very proud of what we were able to achieve this year. This was a very special group of young ladies who have put in the time during the off seasons to improve their skill set .. and it reflected in our season record.”

The Warriors received valuable contributions throughout their lineup, led by senior guard Taylor Rae Jones’ 15.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4 steals and 2.1 assists per game. The thousand point scorer and last season’s All-Tioga County Offensive, Defensive and overall Player of the Year hit double digits in all but three games this season and went over 20 points eight times. 

“Taylor Rae has been the lynchpin to changing the way that people view Williamson girls basketball,” says Allen, “She’s helped develop the foundation for future seasons through her hard work and dedication to the sport. Her leadership will be missed immensely and we hope that she instilled some of those qualities in our younger players.”

Jones and the Lady Warriors started the season strong, running off six straight wins with Jones scoring nearly 18 points per game. Following their sixth straight “W” .. a 10-point win over defending league champ Towanda .. Williamson faced eventual large school champ Troy for the first of three meetings with the Lady Trojans on the season.

The Warriors were within four points in the third quarter, but Troy would hand Williamson their first loss of the season, and the first of three losses at the hands of the Lady Trojans. 

After a rebound blowout of Sayre, Williamson suffered another loss, falling to non-league Northern Potter. The loss served as a wake-up call for the Warriors, who went on a seven game tear where they’d win by an average of over 22 points per game, including a 33-point win over Towanda and a 30-point rout of Athens. 

“I feel like the toughest battle was getting them to believe that they were/are capable of doing the hard things ,” says Allen, “and beating teams both home and away that they hadn’t had success against in many years. Once we beat some of those teams, you could really see them start to click. I feel like that is when things really fell into place for us.”

Williamson took that confidence into their second meeting with Troy and played the 14-3 Trojans much tougher than they had in the first game, but ultimately they’d fall in two overtime periods, 50-49.

The Warriors bounced back once again and won their next four games to finish the regular season 18-3 and as runner-ups in the large school division. With their second win over small school champ Northeast Bradford .. this time in the first round of the NTL Showdown .. a third game with Troy awaited Williamson in the final. 

The Trojans pulled away from Williamson in the third quarter and won by 18 and the Lady Warriors took the No. 4 seed into Districts where they hosted No. 5 seed Bloomsburg. 

A 59-45 loss to the Lady Panthers brought an end to Williamson’s phenomenal season, where their 19 wins matched the total of the Lady Warriors’ District 4 champion team from the 1989-1990 season as the most in school history.

“As a coach, I came into this season with very high expectations for this team,” says Allen, “probably higher than what they even believed they were capable of meeting. An overall record of 19-5 with only three losses in the regular season was a huge accomplishment for the girls’ program at Williamson.”

In addition to celebrating Taylor Rae Jones’ 1,000th point during the season, the Lady Warriors also recognized Olivia Meisner with grabbing her 500th career rebound. The junior .. who was named First Team All-Tioga County last season .. averaged over 10 boards per game this season and added 7.3 points and two blocked shots per outing.

’22-’23 All-Tioga County Rookie Team members Kenna Thomas and Madisen Jones had big roles for the Lady Warriors as sophomore starters. 

Thomas averaged 11 points per game and led Williamson in six of the only eight games that Taylor Rae Jones wasn’t the high scorer. She grabbed 8 rebounds per game and blocked 55 shots, while classmate Madisen Jones added 6.5 points, 3 assists and 3.2 steals per game while being lauded by Coach Allen for her defensive play this year.

Coach Allen also points to a strong core of freshmen .. Maeve Ficks, Aubrey Wells, Olivia Nolan and Bailey Snyder .. who received valuable playing time this season and will be looked at to make bigger impacts next year. 

“Our freshmen all stepped up throughout the season,” says Allen, “especially in games like our double OT against Troy when two starters fouled out. They and all our returners also understand the high stakes of a district game now as well. We’re all excited for the future and are already discussing our plans for the off season.”