The winds of fate that carried Brielle “Breezie” Williams ’26 to Bryant University first stirred during a January 2024 women’s basketball game between the Bulldogs and the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. 

Bryant won the home game, 55-54, but not before sweating out a late, game-tying jump shot by Williams, who was playing for UNH at the time. 

“That was the first time I'd ever seen her play live,” says Bulldogs head coach Lynne-Ann Kokoski ‘08. “We played them in a tough game and ended up coming out on top, but I said to my staff postgame, ‘We need a point guard just like that.’”  

The two teams faced off again a few weeks later, with Bryant winning again, although this time Williams wasn’t on the court as much.  

“You never know what goes on with a team and players and combinations and rotations, so I was just like, hmmm, that’s interesting,” recalls Kokoski. 

When Williams showed up in the transfer portal a few months later, Kokoski quickly set up an interview. 

“She's a very quiet kid — we joke that it was the longest conversation she’s had with any coach,” laughs Kokoski. “I told her my thoughts on her game and how she could help us, and asked if she believed that we could win here.” 

It turned out that Kokoski’s sideline intensity in the UNH game had also made an impression upon Breezie, who led the Wildcats in points (220) and points per game (7.6) as a sophomore after being named to the America East All-Rookie Team as a first-year student. 

“Playing against Bryant and seeing how she runs things, that’s the coaching I was looking for,” remembers Williams. “I just felt like I wasn't being utilized enough, and I wanted to go somewhere where I would be seen. So that's what made me take a chance in the transfer portal.” 

The chemistry between coach and player was immediate, but it wasn’t quite love at first sight.  

“She took probably 10 plus visits at other schools before she came here with her family,” Kokoski says. “She made us work for her.” 

Kokoski didn’t sugarcoat her pitch to Williams. “I told her I don't guarantee playing time, but because I saw you play, I know we could use you,” she says. “I said, ‘I want you to play free and get back to the player I know you can be — the player that I saw in the first game here, versus when we played them at UNH.’” 

For Williams, the decision to transfer to Bryant came down to a combination of Kokoski’s coaching style, a feeling of being wanted, and a culture where athletics and academics are equally supported.   

“I felt like I would be pushed to the best of my ability,” she says. "Coach said that when you're going to come here, it's going to be tough, but it's going to be worth it in the end. If you want to go somewhere far, I believe that we can take you there. And I truly believed that from the jump.” 

Williams’ impact on the team was immediate: Through 10 games played, she averaged a career high 11.9 points per game, placing her among the team’s top scorers, to go along with an average of 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She helped the Bulldogs run out to a 7-1 record to start the season before suffering an injury that kept her out of a string of midseason games.  

The team struggled in her absence. “She helped us tremendously for the first eight games, and clearly we're a lot different without her,” says Kokoski. “Basketball rewards hard work. We don't coach energy, effort, and attitude; the player brings that part. She’s so soft-spoken but, man, is she a competitor.” 

That competitive drive is matched by a combination of physical skills and court smarts.  

“Breezie just glides out there,” says Kokoski, who also was a point guard during her playing career at Bryant. “She understands how to move the ball, and she’s a jet who can get up and down the floor — plus her ability to score.” 

“Playing free” doesn’t mean “freelancing” in Kokoski’s system; it’s more about giving players decision-making authority on the court.  

“I'm not going to put you in a box,” she says. “All my players understand that they have the green light, especially on offense, within your package, and Breezie has a pretty big repertoire. She's got a really killer jump shot off the dribble. She can step back and shoot, and obviously she can get up and down the floor. 

“I thought she and (sophomore guard) Mia Mancini ’27 had some great chemistry, that little one-two punch through their first eight games together, which was tremendous.”  

Kokoski’s philosophy is a good fit for a fundamentally unselfish player like Williams.  

“I've always loved assists,” Williams says. “Sometimes I’d get yelled at to shoot more, but if I see something, why not? I'll get mine eventually. I absolutely love making passes. I love setting screens and getting people open.” 

Williams, a Psychology major and native of Canton, Ohio, grew up a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers and models her game most closely on point guard Kyrie Irving, who played for the Cavs between 2011 and 2017.  

“He's shifty, he’s got versatility with his shooting and getting to the rim as a small guard,” says Williams, who plays bigger than her 5-foot, 5-inch height. “That’s where the quickness comes in, where we can fit in the tighter spaces to go against these bigger post players.” 

Williams considers her ball-handling and basketball IQ as her strong' suit — “I think I see things one step ahead,” she says — with consistency in shooting an area for improvement.  

“I think I've since I've been here, it's gotten a lot better, and I can thank the coaches for that, for helping me and staying patient with me,” says Williams, who this season has the highest field goal and three-point shooting percentages of her college career. 

“Breezie now has the freedom to play basketball, and I don't think she had that in the past,” Kokoski says. “I'm hopeful that we can continue to hone her skills and that she can even have a longer leash with her potential.” 

“Breezie now has the freedom to play basketball, and I don't think she had that in the past,” Kokoski says. "I'm hopeful that we can continue to hone her skills and that she can even have a longer leash with her potential.” 

Williams, who says her love of basketball goes back to when she was still in a highchair watching her dad teach her older brother how to dribble, hopes that her career at Bryant could someday take her to the highest echelon of her sport, the WNBA. The sport’s biggest star, Caitlin Clark, now plays for Breezie’s regional hometown team, the Indiana Fever. 

“I want to play at that level and it's part of my inspiration, because now I think that people are realizing how talented women are at playing basketball,” she says.