California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Brooque Williams ’10 was a four-year starting guard for Cal U’s women’s basketball team from 2006-10.

A two-time Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American and three-time first-team all-conference selection, Williams also was the 2009 PSAC West Player of the Year and the 2009 NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

She is the 19th women’s basketball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and was elected during her first year of eligibility.

“When Coach (Jess) Strom notified me about being a Hall of Fame inductee I was excited and shocked at the same time,” Williams said. “What an amazing blessing! It’s such a huge accomplishment and I didn’t expect it at all. I still can’t believe it and it makes me realize all the hard work I put in day in and day out has truly paid off.”

As a freshman in 2006-07, she started 16 of the team’s 31 games and averaged 5.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 21 playing minutes per game.

Williams concluded her sophomore season with an average of 18 points and 7.9 rebounds per game with 117 assists and a team-high 130 steals. She helped the 2007-08 Vulcans compile a 27-7 overall record, which culminated with the program’s third NCAA East Regional Championship in six years.

Cal U would repeat as NCAA regional champions during Williams’ junior season, rolling to a 29-5 final overall record — the fourth-highest single-season victory output in program history. Williams averaged 21.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game that year, while leading all Vulcan players in field goals (303), made free throws (136), blocks (13) and steals (121).

Williams concluded her Cal U playing career in 2009-10 by again averaging more than 21 points per game, along with 8.4 rebounds and 126 steals. Her dominant play propelled the Vulcans to their 10th-consecutive PSAC Championship game appearance and ninth-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

She is the program’s career leading scorer with 2,205 points, which ranks third in PSAC history. Her 424 career steals remain conference and team records, as do the 744 points and 303 field goals she scored in 2008-09. Williams’ 892 career field goals ranks third in the PSAC, and her 1,023 rebounds and 375 assists rank third and seventh, respectively, in the school record book.

During her prolific career, Cal U compiled a 101-30 cumulative record and 41-11 PSAC West mark. Williams and 2010 Hall of Fame inductee Sara McKinney ’05 are the only Cal U women’s basketball players to receive multiple All-America honors.

Williams stays in touch with her collegiate teammates mostly through social media.

“I have memories and friendships that will last forever,” she said. “My four years at Cal were the best time of my life and sometimes I wish I can go back and experience it all over again.

“I pull out the videos to watch from time to time because those moments of becoming champions are ones I will never forget.”

Williams played under three different head coaches at Cal U; current Vulcan leader Jess Strom was an assistant coach on all three staffs.

“Her numbers are what they are, but when I think of Brooque I think of her work ethic and motivation,” said Strom, who coached the Vulcans to the 2015 NCAA National Championship. “She got better every single off-season. She really put in the time and the improvement she made from her freshman year until she graduated was probably the most I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here.”

Williams praised her Cal U coaches and said they helped the team deal with adversity and become mentally tough.

“At the time, I didn’t understand a lot of the things they did, but now as an adult I understand why and I thank them tremendously for that,” Williams said. “They actually cared and prepared us enough to be ready for the real world. They cared about our future, wanted us to succeed, and I will never forget the positive influence they had on me.”

Williams earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management in 2010. Williams was named to the Cal U Athletic Director Honor Roll seven times.

Williams is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Perry Traditional Academy. As a high school player, she twice led the City League in scoring and earned league Player of the Year and all-state honorable mention recognition in her senior season.

She now plays professionally overseas. This season, Williams is averaging 13 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the Arras Pay d’Artois team of the French Basketball Federation. Since graduating from Cal U, she’s also played on teams in Australia, Germany, and Italy.

Strom is not surprised at all by Williams’ continued basketball success and believes she is a role model for current Vulcan players.

“From what I can see she continues to get better and better and is just one of the hardest workers to ever come through our program,” Strom said. “We have players on our team now who will look at her workouts online or watch old games of her because she was such a great player, as well as just a nice person with solid academics.”

Williams also credits her father, Bruce, for her development.

“I like to be the best at anything I do and I’m my worst critic,” said Williams, who returns to Pittsburgh to train during the off-season. “No matter how great people think I played, I always tell myself I could’ve done better and there’s always room for improvement. I understand that if you want to be a great player, you have to put the work in. My father instilled that in me at a young age and he expects nothing less from me.”

updated 4/12/16