sports spotlight: jena’ williams

By Mike Tupa
April 24, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT

JENA’ WILLIAMS

Jena’ Williams reputation as a top-notch basketball player preceded her arrival in the Bartlesville High School girls basketball program.

She and her fellow freshmen had big sized shoes — not only figuratively, but literally — to fill when they arrived for the 2015-16 season.

Just graduated off the previous year’s squad was all-time girls basketball leading scorer Hailey Tucker, who would go on to Southwestern Oklahoma State University and hone herself into one of the top women’s basketball players in the nation.

In addition, a couple of years prior to that, the Lady Bruins had graduated another one of the program’s best-ever talents, Paige Wilson, who would star for four years at Drury (Mo.) University, including hitting a remarkable shooting percentage one season from the three-point arc (37-of-74).

With the departure of Wilson, Tucker and several other very skilled players, the program seemed to be in rebuilding mode when Williams arrived with the ninth-grade class. She was a starter from game one at point guard.

The five-foot-eight Wilson — with fiery red hair to match the intensity that ascended from her heart — combined hearty headiness, polished ball handling and distribution, net-ripping shooting from all areas, an Einsteinian level of Basketball I.Q., and indeterminable hustle — exuded leadership from the first time she stepped on the varsity court.

Surrounded by several other shining basketball talents — such as fellow Class of 2019 teammates Trinity Parker and Avery Allen, center Destiny Harris, forward Erin Shoemaker and key bench contributors Vivian Culver and Rachel Simpson and others, and led by coach Krista Binam — the Lady Bruins elevated the program to prodigious heights.

During the 2017-18 season — Williams’ junior year — Bartlesville muscled through the regular season unbeaten (23-0) and advanced all the way to the Class 6A state tournament. That was the deepest run by a Lady Bruin team in 25 years.

The program followed up with an 18-8 record in 2018-19 — Williams’ final campaign — despite having graduated Harris and Shoemaker, losing Allen to transfer and being led by a new head coach, Donnie Martin. Williams garnered awards and recognition throughout her prep career.

She finished her Lady Bruin days with more than 1,500 points and more than 400 assists.

Williams went on to play college ball — one season at the University of Nevada and the rest of her playing days at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where she scored a career high 16 points in a win against Boise State.

Jena’ Williams