When looking through the UNH women’s basketball team record book, there are many great names from the past, but two current Wildcats continue to make their mark on New Hampshire basketball history.
Seniors Candace Williams and Amy Simpson have each recorded numerous milestones that most players can only dream of achieving over the course of a career.
These records ensure that both Williams and Simpson will go down as two of the greatest basketball players to wear the Wildcat uniform.
“They have meant a lot to the program since they have been here,” UNH head coach Kristin Cole said. “They have really worked at being great examples for our team.”
Forward Candace Williams, originally from Norfolk, Mass., graduated from Rhode Island’s St. Raphael Academy in 2006.
Williams averaged 27.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks per game in her senior year there, including a whopping 41 points in a single game.
Here at UNH, Williams has been just as impressive. She is eighth all-time on both the all-time scoring and rebounding lists, amassing 1,189 points and 646 rebounds over her four year career.
Williams is an extremely versatile player who can rebound with the best in the paint, but can also step outside and hit jump shots with ease.
“Candace’s game in general has developed (over her collegiate career),” Cole said of her senior forward.
“She has gained more confidence with her ability to take people off the dribble, to read defenses and how she is being guarded. Also, I think she’s one of the best shooters in the conference from 15-17 feet.”
Guard Amy Simpson has also developed into a great player over the last few years. Hailing from Connecticut, Simpson graduated from Waterford High School in 2006.
Simpson scored 1,000 points in her career at Waterford, and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2006.
As a Wildcat, Simpson has compiled one of the most impressive lists of achievements in program history. A sharp shooter from behind the three-point line, Simpson is first all-time in 3-pointers with 190 career treys.
“She is really comfortable coming off of screens and shooting the ball,” Cole said of the senior guard.
Simpson has scored 1,044 points over her career, good for 13th all-time.
Simpson’s 328 assists is 6th all-time, and she is 20th all-time in steals with 117 thefts over the course of her career. As impressive as those numbers are on their own, together they mean that Simpson is the first player in UNH women’s basketball history to record at least 1,000 points, 300 assists and 100 steals, a mind-blowing accomplishment.
Simpson has done all this despite being forced to switch positions from shooting guard to point guard because of injuries at the start of this season. But her calm demeanor, high basketball IQ and great court vision have allowed her to transition nicely into the role of the point.
“I think Amy has tremendous point guard ability,” Cole said. “And especially this year, her senior year, she has really bought into that. She has an ability to be calm and poised down the stretch, and we need that. We have won games because of that.”
There is no doubt that the feats these two young women have achieved in their basketball careers is impressive, but neither are caught up in themselves and their individual accomplishments. For both, it is all about their team.
“It (breaking records) feels good, but its not really as important to me as what the team is doing,” Simpson said. “I think it would be more important to me if we finish the year on a good note and do well in the America East tournament.”
Williams shared similar feelings.
“Honestly, I don’t even pay attention to those things,” she said. “I don’t know what record I have or what standing I am. People ask me questions (about individual records), but I am just concerned about the team.”
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, this is the last year both Williams and Simpson will be able to don the UNH uniform. But that does not mean that their basketball careers are over.
When asked what they had in store for their future beyond college, both answered with an enthusiastic, “More basketball.”
Each look to continue their careers in the pro’s, relying on the same hard work that has taken them this far already.
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