Morgan Park Academy’s Tiara Williams has been a player to watch for most of her life.

Just ask teammate Cecelia Drown, who has known Williams since they were 3 or 4 years old.

“She’s still as fun now as she was then,” Drown said. “Skill-wise, she was always athletic. That hasn’t really changed at all.”

Williams continued to show a variety of those skills Wednesday night.

The 5-foot-7 junior guard totaled 27 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals to lead the Warriors to a 62-29 win over Wolcott in the Lake Shore Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals in Chicago.

Drown added 14 points, four rebounds and five steals for Morgan Park Academy (22-3). Tayler Rowland chipped in with eight points and six steals in the rout of Wolcott (10-13).

The Warriors face either Intrinsic or Horizon in Friday’s tournament championship game.

Williams, meanwhile, is one of the few players in the state who can score 27 points and have her average actually go down. Entering the game, she was averaging 29.1 points.

“Every time for three years, everybody comes at her,” Morgan Park Academy coach Tom Drahozal said of Williams. “The fact that she continues to put up numbers, to me, stands out.

“But now, more of her teammates are consistently involved. That takes a lot of pressure off of her. If you try to lock her down, our guards especially can go out and get their shots, too.”

Morgan Park Academy’s Tayler Rowland, left, fires off a pass as Wolcott’s Tara Roche defends in a Lake Shore Athletic Conference Tournament game in Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

Williams had an extraordinary performance on Jan. 7 against Intrinsic, creating history in the process.

She scored 43 points, including a game-winning 3-point basket with six seconds left, in a 61-60 victory that gave her the school record — for both boys and girls — with 2,055. She eclipsed the 2,012 of Damon Williams. She long ago passed the girls record of 1,705 set by Isis Rodriguez.

“When she’s done, she could very well be over 3,000-point mark,” Drahozal said of Williams. “If she stays healthy, she could be one of the top five or six scorers in the state.”

But Williams isn’t looking that far ahead. She’s locked in on trying to get her team a sectional title. The Warriors have earned 11 regional titles in Class 1A since 2008 but haven’t won a sectional.

Morgan Park Academy’s Logan Lomax, right, hauls down a rebound against Wolcott in a Lake Shore Athletic Conference Tournament game in Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

In Williams’ freshman season, Morgan Park Academy lost 75-22 to St. Bede in the Gardner-South Wilmington Sectional semifinals.

As a sophomore, Williams and the Warriors dropped a 54-26 decision to Amboy in the Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional semifinals.

This winter, however, could be different, according to Williams.

“I like how we’re all connected,” she said. “When we’re in school or out of school, we always message each other. When we get here (on the court), we have a bond.”

This season, the Warriors also will not be sent out west for the sectionals, leading to less travel time. They are at the Fenger Sectional, which consists of several city and suburban teams.

“Any team can do it on any given day,” Drown said of the postseason. “It’s who wants it more. Our work has to match the want. That means we have to be cohesive with each other.”

Morgan Park’s Tiara Williams smiles after narrowly missing a steal attempt against Wolcott in a Lake Shore Athletic Conference Tournament game in Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2026. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)

Williams has been working hard during the offseason to sharpen her game. While she has been amazing playing against small schools, she still challenges herself during the AAU season.

She played with Midwest Elite Meanstreets and participated in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, going up against some of the best players her age in the nation.

She wasn’t averaging 29 points a game against that type of formidable competition, but she confirmed that she likes going up against the best.

“It’s challenging,” Williams said. “We’re all good, so we force each other to get better.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/04/tiara-willliams-morgan-park-academy-basketball/