Recently in Denae Williams Category

As part of the basketball regular signing period that began this week, Rialto High standout center Denae "Mary" Williams has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for University of San Francisco.

"Mary gives us an outstanding presence in the paint," USF coach Jennifer Azzi said on the school's web site. "She averaged 18 rebounds per game! Her strength and rebounding ability will make her an incredible force in the West Coast Conference. I am absolutely thrilled that she has chosen USF."

I spoke with Rialto coach Michael Anderson on Friday night and he said that there were several schools recruiting her hard in the final weeks.

"I have a lot of schools who are mad at me because they thought they had her," Anderson said. "UNLV thought they had her, Colorado State thought they had her ..."

Williams averaged 23.6 points and 18.3 rebounds for the Knights.

Five county-based basketball players made ESPNRise's All-State Underclass Junior teams recently. Three county girls -- Summit center Jillian Alleyne, Cajon guard Sophia Bhasin and Rialto center Denae Williams were among 20 recognized by the website for their achievements this past season. Bhasin and Wiliams were first-team all-Sun selections this past season while Alleyne was a second-team pick.

Two boys with county selections were among 15 juniors selected for the boys underclass team. Chino Hills native Grant Jerrett, who attends two-time defending state champion La Verne Lutheran, and Chino native Chris Reyes, who is at Damien, were both selected. Jerrett has verbally committed to the University of Arizona.

The complete teams:

Girls
Jordan Adams (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-1 PG
Jillian Alleyne (Summit, Fontana) 6-2 F/C
Aly Beebe (St. Joseph, Santa Maria) 6-5 C
Sophie Bhasin (Cajon, San Bernardino) 5-7 G
Kelsey Brockway (Palos Verdes, PV Estates) 6-1 C/F
Ashlie Bruner (Palisades, Pacific Palisades) 5-6 G
Elisha Davis (Berkeley) 5-8 G
Tia Dixon (San Diego) 5-7 G
Nyre' Harris (Lincoln, Stockton) 5-8 G
Lauren Holiday (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood) 5-9 G
Maya Hood (La Jolla Country Day, La Jolla) 5-10 F
Hannah Huffman (Carondelet, Concord) 5-10 G
Michelle Miller (Poly, Pasadena) 5-6 G
Terilyn Moe (Terra Nova, Pacifica) 5-9 G
Jeanier Olukemi (Brea Olinda, Brea) 6-0 F
Christine Salvatore (Canyon, Anaheim) 5-10 G
Imani Stafford (Windward, Los Angeles) 6-7 C
Annie Tarakchian (Chaminade, West Hills) 6-0 C
Keitra Wallace (Brea Olinda, Brea) 5-11 F
Denae Williams (Rialto) 6-1 F

Boys
Brandon Ashley (Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland) 6-9 C
Zena Esomwan (Harvard-Westlake, N. Hollywood) 6-8 F
Julian Harrell (Loyola, Los Angeles) 6-5 F
Grant Jerrett (Lutheran, La Verne) 6-8 C
Donovan Johnson (Palisades, Pacific Palisades) 6-0 G
Tajai Johnson (Vallejo) 6-2 G
Xavier Johnson (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-6 F
Joe Rahon (Torrey Pines, San Diego) 6-1 G
Katin Reinhardt (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-3 G
Chris Reyes (Damien, La Verne) 6-7 F
Matt Shrigley (La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad) 6-4 G
E.J. Twyman (Elsinore, Lake Elsinore) 6-1 G
Grant Verhoeven (Central Valley Christian, Visalia) 6-8 C
Tyrone Wallace (Bakersfield) 6-3 F
Gabe York (Lutheran, Orange) 6-3 G

Rialto's dream season fell one game short, as Stockton St. Mary's full-court man-pressure was too much in a 64-48 victory. Rialto was turned over 33 times by the Rams, who held star Knights point guard Janae Sharpe to eight points.

Brittani Walker led Rialto with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Denae Williams added 13 points, but it wasn't enough against a seasoned St. Mary's squad that saw four players score in double figures. Courtney Range led the way for the Rams with 17 points.

Rialto is in a dangerous spot right now, as the Rams have used seven points from Oregon State-bound forward Ali Gibson in the third period to move out to a double-digit lead. Gibson now has 12 points for St. Mary's, which has forced 24 Rialto turnovers.

Denae Williams has not played in the second half thus far due to her three fouls. Brittani Walker is continuing to play well for Rialto, as she now has a game-high 13 points along with seven rebounds.

Kendall Kenyon hit a putback as time expired, giving the Rams a five-point halftime lead. Rialto scrapped to a 27-2 tie with 1:33 left on a basket by Bianca Brown, who scored five points off the bench in the second quarter, but St. Mary's ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take the lead.

Janae Sharpe got on the board with a 3-pointer late in the second quarter, but Rialto has been led by Denae Williams' 10 points and six rebounds and Brittani Walker's nine points, five rebounds and two assists. Williams has three fouls, something that could come back to haunt the Knights.

Courtney Range has eight point and five rebounds for St. Mary's, which forced 18 Rialto turnovers in the first half.

Denae Williams is continuing to produce for Rialto, as she now has 10 points and six rebounds for the Knights. However, she just picked up her third foul on a questionable call, leaving Rialto in peril for the rest of the half.

St. Mary's has been up by as many as seven points thus far and has forced 15 Knight turnovers. Janae Sharpe remains scoreless for the Knights, but Brittani Walker has picked up some of the slack with seven points and four rebounds.

Despite committing 10 first-quarter turnovers, Rialto led for the majority of the first quarter before Courtney Range put the Rams up with seconds left in the first. Denae Williams has six points and five rebounds for the Knights, but picked up her second foul with 1:05 left in the first period. Brittani Walker has four points and four rebounds as well for the Knights.

Denae Williams has come out firing for the Knights, scoring six of the team's eight points and adding four rebounds. The St. Mary's full-court pressure is causing Rialto problems though, as the Knights have five turnovers thus far.