SHE LAYS DOWN THE LAW ON THE COURT: HEAD OF THE CLASS CLEVELAND'S WILLIAMS LEARNED EARLY IN LIFE ABOUT BENEFITS OF HARD WORK.Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News Bryana Williams does not consider herself an expert on habeas corpus habeas corpus (hā`bēəs kôr`pəs) [Lat.,=you should have the body], writ directed by a judge to some person who is detaining another, commanding him to bring the body of the person in his custody at a specified time to a or imminent domain. She did not receive a law degree and readily admits she doesn't remember much from attending four years of law school. ``Some of it was interesting, because I'm into school, but I really didn't understand most of it,'' she said. Her inability to keep up was understandable. Williams had not yet enrolled in middle school when she started attending classes at University of West Los Angeles The University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) is a private, non-profit School of Law with two campuses in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Inglewood and Woodland Hills, California. The School of Law is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of The State Bar of California. Law School. Williams spent four nights a week attending classes, and a big chunk of weekends in the library, with her mother Cassandra, a single parent who took her daughter just about everywhere she went. Cassandra Williams is now a practicing Los Angeles-area attorney who works to help reunite re·u·nite tr. & intr.v. re·u·nit·ed, re·u·nit·ing, re·u·nites To bring or come together again. reunite Verb [-niting, -nited children in foster care with their parents. The experience shaped the life of Bryana Williams, now a Cleveland High of Reseda basketball standout who has helped lead the Cavaliers to their first West Valley League title in more than 20 years. Williams and her Cleveland teammates will look to build on that success in the City playoffs. The Cavaliers, who are seeded seventh in the 16-team tournament, play host to Sunset Six champion Grant of Van Nuys (15-10) in a first round game tonight at 7 p.m. Williams, who transferred to Cleveland from Montclair Prep of Panorama City as a sophomore, is an athletic, energetic, and intensely physical senior center who averages 18.3 points and 14.8 rebounds. She has received interest from several four-year colleges, including Division I Texas Tech, Division II Humboldt State and Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. Fordham (N.Y.), along with just about every area community college. ``She basically gives us double-doubles every game,'' Cleveland coach Carol Holton said of Williams. ``There's really no other girl in the West Valley League who can match up with her down low as far as agility. ``She might not be the tallest player, but she has great court sense and she rebounds like crazy.'' Williams has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 3.5 GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted . She is also active in her community, counseling homeless children at her church each week. ``I just try to encourage them to follow their dreams,'' she said. Bryana was still in eighth grade when she had to assume responsibilities few her age take on, caring for her mother when she was diagnosed with Multiple Myolema, a rare cancer that attacks healthy bone marrow bone marrow, soft tissue filling the spongy interiors of animal bones. Red marrow is the principal organ that forms blood cells in mammals, including humans (see blood). In children, the bones contain only red marrow. . Cassandra Williams is in remission Extinguishment or release of a debt. A remission is conventional when it comes about through an express grant to the debtor by a creditor. It is tacit when the creditor makes a voluntary surrender of the original title to the debtor under private signature constituting the , but not cured. ``(Bryana) catered to me, she made sure I had everything I needed,'' Cassandra Williams said. ``That was a really traumatic time in my life and she really stepped up to the plate.'' Bryana is widely credited with helping transform a perennially per·en·ni·al adj. 1. Lasting or active through the year or through many years. 2. a. Lasting an indefinitely long time; enduring: perennial happiness. b. mediocre me·di·o·cre adj. Moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary. See Synonyms at average. [French médiocre, from Latin mediocris : medius, middle; see medhyo- Cleveland program with a winning attitude and an infectious smile. ``She gave us that little extra push we needed to start winning,'' Cleveland senior forward Elise Newman said. ``She really helped raise the expectations of what a well-rounded player should be as far as being very sportsmanlike sports·man n. 1. A man who is active in sports. 2. A person whose conduct and attitude exhibit sportsmanship. sports and even not being mad at the refs, which is pretty rare.'' Williams said there were times when watching her mother struggle to make a better life was hard. But she now counts the experience as an inspiration in her life. ``She's my role model,'' Bryana said of her mother. ``I saw how hard she works and I was like, 'I want to do that.' She showed me that anything can be accomplished.'' Gideon Rubin, (818)713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Senior center Bryana Williams, who is averaging 18.3 points and 14.8 rebounds, led Cleveland to its first league title in 20 years. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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