A four-year letterwinner for the Commodores, Caroline Williams began her coaching career at her alma mater last season.
A native of Rockmart, Ga., Williams walked on to the Vanderbilt roster as a freshmen. She would earn a scholarship the following season and go on to become a two-year starter and 1,000-point scorer for Melanie Balcomb[apos]s Commodores.
‘Caroline is such an amazing role model for our current players,’ Balcomb said. ‘Her success story here speaks volumes to our players, as they have living proof of what hard work can accomplish. Caroline continually impresses us with her determination and we[apos]re very proud to have one of our own here on staff.’
Williams holds the Vanderbilt and Southeastern Conference record for career three-point field percentage, as she made 46.5 percent of her 512 long-range attempts. That number ranks second all-time in the NCAA behind only Notre Dame[apos]s Alicia Ratay.
As a sophomore in 2005, Williams connected on 50.5 percent of her three-point attempts. She would continue to pace the SEC in her junior and senior campaigns, ranking second in the nation while making 48.7 of her three-pointers in 2007.
A member of two SEC Tournament Championship teams, Williams was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll four times. She earned a bachelor[apos]s degree in Human & Organizational Development in 2007 and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Organizational Leadership at Vanderbilt[apos]s esteemed Peabody College of Education and Human Development.
2006-07: Second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection by league coaches… Finished the 2006-07 season ranked second in the nation in three-point field-goal percentage (48.7 percent) and 16th in the nation in three-pointers made per game (2.7)… First in both categories among all SEC student-athletes… Closed her Vanderbilt career with an all-time three-point shooting percentage of 46.5, breaking both Vanderbilt and NCAA records and good for fourth all-time in the NCAA… Earned recognition on the CoSIDA All-District IV Academic First Team… Named the SEC[apos]s Player of the Week on Feb. 19 after posting back-to-back career highs in important league victories over Mississippi State and South Carolina… Finalist at the College 3-Point Shootout which preceded NCAA Men[apos]s Final Four.
2005-06: Earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors from league coaches… One of four Commodores to play in all 32 games this season, but the only one to start every game… Led the team in minutes, ranking fourth in the SEC at 33.8 mpg… Played five complete 40-minute games: at TAMU-CC, at Old Dominion, at South Carolina, vs. Ole Miss and at Auburn — Vanderbilt won all five games… Set a Vanderbilt single-season record with 95 made three-pointers, breaking mark set the previous year by former teammate Abi Ramsey… Williams currently ranks first all-time for career three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 147 of her 325 attempts (.452)… Ranked first in the SEC in three-pointers made per game (2.97). and second in three-point percentage (95-of-214, .444)… Ranked eighth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and ninth in the nation in three-pointers made… Made at least one three-pointer in 29-of-32 games… Scored double-figures in 19 games, including seven outings of 20 points or more… Posted consecutive career-high performances, scoring 21 and 23 points, respectively, against Alabama A&M and Charleston Southern… Ranked 13th in the SEC in scoring with 12.4 ppg… Connected on a career-high seven three-pointers — one short of the VU single-game record — on two occasions: vs. Charleston Southern and William & Mary… Led Vanderbilt in free throw percentage at .879 (29-of-33, not enough makes to qualify for league rankings)… Named to the all-tournament team at the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament, scoring 30 points in two games while hitting 8-of-14 three-point attempts… Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for the second-consecutive year.
2004-05: Started the last 14 games for the Commodores and played in all 32 games… Earned first career start against Kentucky (1/27) … Emerged as the SEC[apos]s top three-point field goal percentage shooter shooting 50.5 percent (48-of-95) from behind the arc and 56.5 percent (26-of-46) from behind the arc in conference games … Averaged 20.1 minutes per game… Matched a career-high with five made three-pointers in SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Tennessee… Had a break-out game against South Carolina registering a career-high 17 points in the win where she went a career-best 5-of-8 from three-point range… Posted five double-figure games including 15 points against Tennessee (3/5), 12 points against Alabama (2/24), 12 points at Miss. State (2/3) and 10 second-half points at New Orleans (12/30)… Grabbed a career-high six rebounds against Arkansas (2/17) and fell one shy of that with five rebounds against No. 8 Tennessee in the SEC Tournament… Knocked down two big three-pointers in the first overtime to help the `Dores rally in the double overtime win at Miss. State… Dished out a career-high four assists against South Carolina… One of four Commodore women[apos]s basketball players named to the SEC Honor Roll.
2003-04: Saw an average of 6.9 minutes in 17 games for the Black and Gold last season… Averaged 1.5 points, 0.4 rebounds and hit four three-pointers in 117 total minutes on the hardwood… Hit at a .364 clip on 8-of-22 shooting from the field… Tallied a career-high eight points and two assists in 15 minutes of action during VU[apos]s 73-47 victory over Weber State (12/13)… The rookie hit 3-of-4 field goals while nailing the first two three-pointers of her career against WSU… Registered five points and a career-best two boards in the 91-40 rout of Savannah State (1/5)… Scored the first two points of her NCAA Tournament career against Lipscomb (3/20) with two charity tosses… Posted an assist/turnover ratio of 1.7 in limited minutes.
High School: Averaged 25.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game as a senior while leading her team to a AA tournament berth…Ranks as the all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) at Rockmart High School, scoring 2,310 points during her four-year career… Netted a career-high 46 points vs. Woodland during her senior season… Garnered two-time Northwest Georgia Player of the Year accolades… Named a two-time All-State selection in Ga… Participated in the North-South Georgia All-Star game as a senior… Named AA sixth Region Player of the Year as a senior…Earned four-time selection to the Northwest Georgia Tip-Off team and three-time selection to the Atlanta Tip-Off team… Named four-time Female Player of the Year by the News-Tribune in Rome, Georgia… Captained team all four years… Named class salutatorian… Named to Honor Roll all four years… Earned the Georgia Certificate of Merit for academic ranking in the top 10 percent in the state… Earned nomination to the Wendy[apos]s Heisman Award for academic and athletic excellence.
Worth Knowing: Played shortstop on the softball team for three years, earning All-State accolades as a sophomore… Led Rockmart to the quarterfinals of the state tournament… Plays the piano… Walked on to the Commodores her freshmen season before earning a scholarship… Her 2004-05 shooting display (50.5% on 48-of-95 from long range) is best all-time in the SEC among players who averaged more than 1.5 made three[apos]s per game