By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
The Napa Valley College women's basketball team had its three-game winning streak end, as the Storm fell to Solano Community College, 58-35, in Fairfield on Feb. 16.
The Storm (14-12 overall, 8-4 Bay Valley Conference) is tied for third place with College of Marin-Kentfield heading into "Sophomore Night" as it hosts the Mariners (14-12 overall, 8-4 Bay Valley) in a key conference game on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Napa Valley got 12 points and 14 rebounds from Brooklyn Giles in the game against Solano, which is tied for first place with Laney College-Oakland.
The Storm took a three-game win streak into the game.
Napa Valley was behind 14-6 in the first quarter, 28-16 at halftime, and 46-28 going into the fourth quarter. The Storm shot 21.1 percent from the field (12-of-57), 15.0 percent from 3-point distance (3-of-20), and 61.5 percent from the free-throw line (8-of-13). NVC had 45 rebounds, four assists and seven steals.
Giles also had two assists and two steals.
Bella Merritt scored eight points and Kamilah Tiongco scored six points and had two rebounds.
Also playing for NVC:
Jordyn Allen (seven rebounds), Daralonie Sykes (four points, two rebounds), Aaliyah Gaitan (three points), Alicia Johnson (eight rebounds, two steals).
Solano (20-7 overall, 12-1 Bay Valley) was led by Ale Ibarra with 18 points and two blocked shots, Ella Gervasoni with 11 points, Jade Dickson with eight points and eight assists, Julia Wright with six points and 13 rebounds, Amari Mason with six points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Macie Wilcox with five points and nine rebounds, and Kimani Wilburn with six rebounds.
Solano shot 33.8 percent from the field (25-of-74), 19.4 percent from 3-point distance (6-of-31), and 25.0 percent from the free-throw line (2-of-8). Solano had 56 rebounds, 19 assists, 10 steals and four blocked shots. Napa Valley has a 7-3 record over its last 10 games.
Playing at home, the Storm beat Contra Costa College-San Pablo, 69-61, in a BVC game on Feb. 9.
Leading Napa Valley was Giles, who scored 33 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field. She also had 24 rebounds, six assists, two steals and five blocks in an outstanding all-around game.
Also scoring in double figures was Sykes, with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, two steals; Tiongco, with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting, three rebounds, three assists; and Allen, with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 11 rebounds.
Aso playing for the Storm:
Merritt (five rebounds, two assists, three points), Johnson (six rebounds), Gaitan.
Napa Valley came back after trailing 21-16 in the first quarter and took a 33-30 lead at halftime.
The Storm shot 45.0 percent from the field (27-of-60), 23.1 percent from the 3-point line (3-of-13), and 42.9 percent from the free-throw line (12-of-28). NVC had 55 rebounds, 16 assists and seven steals.
There are two games to go in the regular season for the Storm – at home Tuesday, Feb. 20 against Marin and Thursday, Feb. 22 at Yuba College-Marysville (1-24 overall, 0-12 Bay Valley).
* 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.