Photo courtesy of Mario Cendejas
By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Napa Valley College will host Storm Surge III, a preseason women's basketball invitational tournament, Dec. 1-3.
Each of the eight teams will play three games over the course of the three-day tournament.
There are four games each day. All games are at the NVC Gymnasium.
The field is led by three teams that are listed in the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association State Top 25, as announced by the California Community College Athletic Association, in a report, at www.cccaasports.org, on Nov. 21:
* No. 8 City College of San Francisco (3-1 overall), from the Coast-North Conference. The Rams won Storm Surge I and Storm Surge II titles. San Francisco beat Sierra College-Rocklin in the championship game last year, 72-50.
* No. 17 Sierra College-Rocklin (2-2 overall), from the Big 8 Conference.
* No. 22 San Jose City College (5-1 overall), from the Coast-South Conference.
"It's early in the season. Teams are emerging. They're definitely the three teams that are the most ranked right now, but we'll see," Paul DeBolt, Napa Valley's head coach, said Monday. "Sometimes you get surprised. So, we'll see what happens. There are other good teams. Siskiyous is a pretty good club."
Napa Valley, the host team, is off to a 2-4 start during the 2023-24 season. The Storm, which has lost four in a row, plays in the Bay Valley Conference.
The tournament also has Gavilan College-Gilroy (0-6 overall), from the Coast-South Conference; College of the Siskiyous-Weed (6-2 overall), from the Golden Valley Conference; Contra Costa College-San Pablo (1-2 overall), from the Bay Valley Conference; and Foothill College-Los Altos Hills (1-4 overall), from the Coast-South Conference.
Four of the teams in the tournament are also listed in the CCCWBCA North Region Poll, announced on Nov. 20:
No. 4 City College of San Francisco, No. 8 Sierra, No. 11 San Jose City, No. 13 Siskiyous. "I've always hosted a tournament, because it gives people a chance to get to know Napa Valley a little better," said DeBolt. "It gives us a chance to have home games. To me, it's just a good selling point for the program."
In first-round games, on Friday, Dec. 1:
* Sierra and Gavilan play at 2 p.m.
* San Jose City and Siskiyous meet at 4 p.m.
* Contra Costa and San Francisco play at 6 p.m.
* Foothill and Napa Valley meet at 8 p.m.
Second-round games, on Saturday, Dec. 2, start at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.
Final-round games, on Sunday, Dec. 3, begin at 12, 2, 4 and 6 p.m.
Looking at the field, DeBolt said:
"They're good teams, quality teams and programs. It's good basketball.
"Obviously, it's good for us because we get the home games, but it's also good for the other teams who can come to Napa, spend a weekend here, enjoy Napa and enjoy our facility and enjoy playing basketball and grow as teams. Because that is really what we're trying to do right now. Everybody gets better, so it's how fast do you get better.
"Hopefully, it's a good event for everybody."
There is good news for Napa Valley, as Rose Jamison, a returning starter who had surgery on her left knee on Aug. 16 and has not played in a game for the Storm this year, is now practicing with the team, said DeBolt.
"We've been looking forward to getting Rose back," said DeBolt.
Jamison, a guard, was a unanimous first-team All-Bay Valley Conference selection last year. Jamison averaged 15.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
In addition, Jamison was named to the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association 2022-23 All-Academic Team.
"Rose hasn't played yet. If she's able to play this weekend, her minutes will be limited. Hopefully, she can play," said DeBolt.
"Having Rose in practice really makes everything better. She's a presence. She's just a great player. She's physical. I think it will definitely help our physicality all over the court having her back. We have to be patient and not overdo it with her. Just don't want to rush her. I want her to feel comfortable and keep her going in a positive direction physically."
Jamison is a standout all-around player – helping the Storm as a scorer, defender and rebounder.
"Rose is a big-time rebounder. Solid defender. On offense, she can score at all three levels. She can score at the basket. She's a great mid-range threat. And she can knock down 3's," said DeBolt.
Brooklyn Giles, a returning sophomore guard, has not played or practiced since sustaining a sprained ankle in a game against College of the Redwoods-Eureka on Nov. 4.
Giles had a spectacular game in the Storm's season opener, scoring 30 points and getting 28 rebounds, as NVC beat Sacramento City College, 70-45. She also had seven assists and five steals.
Giles had 10 points, four rebounds and three steals in NVC's 67-61 win over Redwoods.
"It was a serious ankle injury," said DeBolt.
Giles had a super freshman season for NVC last year, averaging 12.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. She was named All-Bay Valley Conference unanimous first-team.
Napa Valley lost all three of its games at the 25th VC-Kiwanis Club Classic last week, falling to host Ventura College, 76-57, Antelope Valley College-Lancaster, 72-46, and West Hills-Lemoore, 73-46.
In the game against Antelope Valley, it was Daralonie Sykes with 14 points and six assists, Aaliyah Gaitan with 10 points, Kamilah Tiongco with six points, nine rebounds and five steals, Jordyn Allen with five points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals, Bella Merritt with four points and four rebounds, Hadieh Gallegos with four points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, and Alicia Johnson with three points and two rebounds.
In the game against West Hills-Lemoore, it was Sykes with 15 points, Gallegos with 10 points and six rebounds, Gaitan with seven points, three rebounds and two steals, Johnson with six points and 12 rebounds, Allen with five points, 11 rebounds and three assists, Tiongco with four rebounds, and Merritt with three rebounds and two assists.
"Getting through the Ventura tournament I thought was big," said DeBolt. "We grew. It's a great team bonding time. It was a good experience.
"I think that sometimes in a season, when you get injured, you're going to take some lumps. We certainly took some lumps there. But we competed. We competed in all the games. We really played well against Ventura.
"There were a lot of good things. I thought we saw a lot of things that are helping us grow into the team we're going to become."
Storm Surge III Notes
Admission is $10 for adults for each day. Adults can purchase a tournament pass (good for all three days) for $15 on Day 1 or 2. On Day 3, each adult without a pass will be charged $10 for admission. Youth under 18 will be admitted free of charge for the duration of the tournament.
Team awards will be given for first, second and third place, and also consolation.
An All-Tournament team and a tournament MVP will be selected.
On Day 3, after each game, there will be a brief awards ceremony.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.