FARMINGTON, Utah. (February 17, 2026) - Following a week of season-best performances, senior forward Kayla Williams has been named Big Sky Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.
Williams is the second Lumberjack to receive a weekly laurel from the conference this year, joining redshirt freshman Naomi White who grabbed the award on Dec. 23. The forward helped lead NAU to a 2-0 week, including two road wins over Portland State in overtime, 88-80, and Sacramento State, 60-55. NAU has won three in a row and now sits fifth in the conference standings with four games remaining in the regular season.
Coming off a four-year span at NAIA schools where she was named an All-American, Williams has now found her groove with the Jacks, ramping up NAU's presence in the post on defense and keeping the offense spaced with efficient shooting.
Williams has started four of the previous six games, as she has seen her minutes rise from six per game in the first half of the season to 24.6 in the last six games.
Against the Vikings, Williams scored 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc while grabbing eight rebounds to tie her season-high in boards. The forward also knocked down a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to keep NAU ahead by three before a last-second triple tied the contest. She then followed up that outing with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, two rebounds and one steal in the win over Sacramento State. Overall, the native of San Diego, Calif. averaged 20.5 points on 62.5% shooting and five boards in 31 minutes per game, including 87.5% (7-8) from the charity stripe this past week.
NAU plays just one contest this week, hosting Northern Colorado on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff with the Bears is scheduled for 2 p.m. MST and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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