Early in the day Sunday came the news: For the second time in her career and for the first in her time with the Lynx, Courtney Williams was a WNBA All-Star.
Honestly, she almost missed it. She got a call from Commissioner Cathy Engelbert but didn’t take it because she didn’t recognize the number. Williams answered the second time and, after Engelbert introduced herself, said, “Cathy who?”
But, a few hours later, all sorted out, Williams went out and played like the newly minted All-Star she is in an 80-75 Lynx victory over the Chicago Sky.
“She was like, ‘You’re an All-Star,’” Williams said. “I said, ‘No, ain’t no way you’re calling my phone saying that.’”
It was true.
So, to celebrate, on a night when the Lynx — playing their fifth game in eight nights against a Sky team that had been off for a week — very much needed it, Williams went off.
She matched her season high with 25 points. She made 10 of 17 shots, including 2-for-5 on three-pointers, to go with eight rebounds and six assists.
“So I told her, ‘Playing like an All-Star is good,’” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. To be honest, Reeve — who will coach team Caitlin Clark at the All-Star Game — was disappointed only Napheesa Collier and Williams were headed to the game in Indianapolis from a team that, now 17-2, has a 4½-game lead over the rest of the WNBA.