Local briefs: Leon’s Williams signs scholarship

Democrat staff reports Published 8:50 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2017 | Updated 11:01 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2017

Leon High point guard Jala Williams signs Monday to play basketball at the University of West Alabama. She was joined by her parents, Rashad and Larissa Robinson (seated), and Lions coach Bruce Daniels.(Photo: Leon High photo)

Leon High senior basketball standout Jala Williams signed with the University of West Alabama Monday.

A four-year starter for Leon, Williams surpassed the 1,000-point plateau during her junior campaign.

She averaged 17.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while earning first-team All-Big Bend honors.

As a sophomore, she averaged 14.8 points and 2.7 rebounds and was named second-team All-Big Bend.

"Jala is a superstar with excellent people skills," Leon coach Bruce Daniels said.

"She gets it. She realizes that it's a team sport. She works on her individual skill set, but she's a team player."

Williams chose the Tigers over offers from Lynn University, College of Central Florida and Eastern Florida State College.

The Tallahassee Mixed 40 & Over national champions. (Photo: USTA photo)

Local tennis

The Tallahassee Mixed 40 & Over 7.0 team came out national champion at the USTA League Mixed 40 and Over 7.0 National Championships at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., in the final defeating USTA Hawaii (Honolulu) 2-0.

The team earlier defeated a squad from the USTA Caribbean Section (Bayamon, P.R.) 2-1 in the semifinals. They advanced to the semis by winning their round-robin flight contested Friday and Saturday.

Playing out of Forestmeadows Park and Athletic Center, the team is captained by Denean Sykes with a season roster that includes Kevin Warner, Michelle Eubanks, Travis Sykes, Laura Phillips-Kirchhoff, Sarah Duke, Susan Smith, Teresa Ransom, Lori Elliott, Kenneth Seymore, Melissa Jaacks, Andrew Lawyer, Clark Kuntz, John Brooks, Sharon Dailey, and Jeffrey Banka.

"When we began the season back in February, the team's goal was to win nationals," Sykes said.

"We are thrilled to have achieved what we set out to do. The victory is even sweeter because three years ago we lost to the Caribbean team in the semifinals at Nationals. So, you could say this victory has been three years in the making."

FAMU women's basketball

The FAMU women's basketball team continued its four-game road tour Wednesday morning, dropping an 82-63 decision to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

FAMU (0-2) had three players in double figures led by junior Florence Ouattara, who led all scorers in the game with 23 points, to go with eight rebounds.

Senior Texas native Dawn King pumped in 17 points, junior Shalunda Burney-Robinson added 10 points and four rebounds, with senior Shakeyrra Morrison pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.

FAMU heads north to Manhattan, Kansas for a Friday evening clash against the Kansas State Wildcats.

Officials needed

The City of Tallahassee Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs Department is looking for officials and umpires to work in our youth and adult athletic leagues; basketball, football, volleyball, baseball and softball.

If you are interested, please call 891-3866, and ask to be connected with one of the athletic supervisors.

Adult Basketball League

Registration is open for the City of Tallahassee's 2017 Winter Adult Basketball League. The six-week, 12-game season begins the week of Jan.15, 2018, with games held in city recreation center gymnasiums.

The team registration fee is $395. Teams may register online at Talgov.com/Parks or in person at Parks and Recreation's main office, 912 Myers Park Drive.

Registration ends Jan. 5, 2018. Teams wanting to register a team after Jan. 5 will be placed on a wait list and charged the $10 late fee. Late registration takes place Jan. 8-9.

Teams will be separated into divisions based on their level of competitiveness. Divisions include Competitive, Somewhat Competitive and Recreational. This means that whether you have players who are completely new to the game or players who wanted to go pro, there is a division for you.

Each team can carry as many players as they want on the roster. Players must be 18 to be eligible to participate. If you are a player wanting to get on a team, please email your name and phone number to Janet.Lucas@Talgov.com.

For additional information on this and other adult league offerings, please contact Janet Lucas at 891-3835 or Janet.Lucas@Talgov.com or visit Talgov.com.

Source: Local briefs: Leon's Williams signs scholarship