Historic night as Napa Valley College's Jamison reaches 1,000 career points in Storm's win
First photo: Napa Valley College's Rose Jamison is shown with the game ball after reaching 1,000 career points in the Storm's Bay Valley Conference win on Wednesday night over Los Medanos College-Pittsburg.
Photos by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
Rose Jamison left the team room and Napa Valley College gym with the game ball Wednesday night.
It was presented to her by head coach Paul DeBolt after she reached the 1,000-point scoring mark, a historic achievement and milestone, while also attaining a double-double in the Storm's 78-41 Bay Valley Conference women's basketball win over Los Medanos College-Pittsburg.
"That's her 1,000th point ball," said DeBolt. "I wanted her to have that ball. It's pretty cool to see her do that. It's something to be celebrated."
Jamison, a sophomore guard, was congratulated by her teammates near the Napa Valley bench area as the game went final.
She has firmly cemented her place in the program's record books.
"It definitely means a lot to me, to prove how far I've come and how much I've developed my skill. But it also means a lot to just leave my mark at the school," said Jamison, a 6-foot sophomore guard. "Napa did a lot for me. So, it just feels good to leave my mark here."
Jamison, who has been in the Napa Valley program for three years, scored 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, as she led the Storm to its third straight win. She also had 14 rebounds, nine assists and six steals in another all-around outstanding game.
She is one of the top players in school history.
"Rose is just such a genuine person. She's a great player. It couldn't happen to a nicer person and to a more deserving person," said DeBolt.
It's believed that Jamison is the first player in NVC women's basketball history to score 1,000 points in a career.
On her way out of the gym, Jamison took time for photos of her holding the game ball at mid-court. She said it was very emotional getting the game ball afterward from DeBolt.
"We celebrated," said Jamison. "Three years ago, it would have never crossed my mind that I have 1,000 points. Coach (DeBolt), my teammates, have just made me become a better person, helped me grow into who I am today.
"I feel like I have a huge role on this team, to always perform to the best of my ability."
As a freshman, Jamison was a unanimous first-team All-Bay Valley Conference selection, as she averaged 15.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, during the 2022-23 season. She scored 473 points that season.
She was also named to the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association 2022-23 All-Academic Team.
Jamison scored 19 points, helping Napa Valley to a 92-80 win over College of the Siskiyous-Weed in a Round 1 game in the California Community College Athletic Association-Northern California Regionals during the 2022-23 season.
Jamison was granted a medical redshirt after being limited to playing in only three games last year, averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, due to a knee injury. She had surgery on her left knee on Aug. 16, 2023. She scored 24 points last year.
"She had a serious meniscus injury, and was in a lot of pain. Her freshman season here, she played through pain a lot," said DeBolt. "She had to sit out a year. That was not easy for her to sit out. It was very hard for her. We had to be real careful with her. The athletic training staff here, Brandon (Lucas) and Traci (Oyama) have done a great job with her.
"Rose takes care of herself. She's done everything the right way. It's just nice to see her rewarded for doing everything, for doing what she did correctly, her due diligence around taking care of herself."
Jamison went into last night's game having scored 476 points this season and 973 during her career. She needed 27 points to get to 1,000.
She did it, hitting a shot from close range late in the game.
"She's the first one, I think, in the history of the women's program here to get 1,000 points," said DeBolt. "Great person, great player, great student, great teammate. She's just a role model in everything. She just handles everything with such grace. It's pretty amazing. It's fun to watch her succeed. Just thrilled for her. And there's more to come."
Jamison has played in 57 games during her standout career at NVC.
Napa Valley (15-10 overall, 11-2 Bay Valley) was awarded a win by forfeit over Contra Costa College-San Pablo on Friday, Feb. 7. Contra Costa is forfeiting its remaining games during the season due to not having enough players to field a team.
Napa Valley is in second place in the Bay Valley standings.
"We're at a place where we have to hold serve in the conference standings. That's what we are trying to do," said DeBolt.
Napa Valley's next game is not until Friday, Feb. 14 when it plays at home against Solano Community College-Fairfield. The Storm concludes the regular season playing at College of Marin-Kentfield on Feb. 18 and at home and on "Sophomore Night" on Feb. 20 against Yuba College-Marysville.
"(Jamison) needed to stay on the court tonight. We don't play for 10 days, and it was important for us to have a good outing," said DeBolt. "It was a different kind of a game. I was really proud, really happy that she did it tonight."
Jamison is having a spectacular season, averaging 21.0 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 73.0 percent from the free-throw line. She is also averaging 11.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
"Rose is a player who can score all different ways. She can make 3's. She's got a great mid-range game and she's difficult to stop at the rim. So, it doesn't surprise me at all that she's done this. She's just a sensational player," said DeBolt.
Jamison ranks eighth in the state in scoring and 13th in rebounding.
She scored six points in the first quarter, five points in the second quarter, 10 points in the third quarter, and six points in the fourth quarter.
She has scored 30 or more points in three games this season, led by a 37-point game against Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill on Dec. 12.
"She just plays her heart out every time she's on the court," said Jazmine Fontilla, a freshman guard. "I feel like we all look up to her. Witnessing what Rose accomplished today makes me very happy for her."
Jamison was one of four players in double-figure scoring.
Fontilla scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. She had eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Ashley Torres scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. She had eight rebounds, two assists and five steals.
"Ashley has really come on lately, just an outstanding guard who is getting a chance to play regularly and is learning to make good decisions on the court. And it's not just the points. It's everything else that she does defensively," said DeBolt.
Arianna Aguilar scored 12 points. She had six rebounds and five assists.
Marticia Pollard had four points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Also, playing for the Storm:
Teira Greenwood, Deena Sharqawi, Helena White (two points, two rebounds).
A 26-0 run bridging the first and second quarter gave Napa Valley a 36-5 lead.
"I thought we played really well defensively. Got a lot of good stops. We still missed a lot of shots. We still turned the ball over, but we were aggressive with the ball offensively," said DeBolt. "We were mixing up our defenses and doing things defensively.
"We've got some big games coming up. We're going to prepare and do the best we can."
Los Medanos was led by Eveana Mason with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting from 3-point range.
* 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.