NVC women's basketball wins Storm Surge; Aguilar named as tournament MVP
Photos: The Napa Valley College women's basketball team is shown with the championship trophy after winning its Storm Surge tournament on Saturday.
Photos by Marty James
By MARTY JAMES
Napa Valley College won its Storm Surge, a preseason women's basketball invitational tournament, beating Rio Hondo College-Whittier in the championship game on Saturday, 71-64, and extending its winning streak to seven in a row.
Arianna Aguilar, named as the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and Jazmine Fontilla, selected to the All-Tournament team, scored 17 points each, leading Napa Valley (9-2 overall) to the title in the fifth annual Storm Surge. The tournament was played over three days.
Marticia Pollard scored 11 points and Layla Butler had 10 points for Napa Valley, which showed great composure, poise and discipline in holding off a late run by Rio Hondo (6-7 overall).
Eight players scored in the game for Napa Valley, which had four 3-pointers and was 25-of-37 from the free-throw line. Fontilla made all 10 of her free throws in the second half.
"It was a very solid win, the best win we've had this year," said coach Paul DeBolt. "Rio (Hondo) is a pretty good team. They have some very good basketball players. I felt like we were able to handle what they threw at us. We were able to handle their pressure. We turned it over a few times, but we pretty much handled it.
"We held them to the points that we wanted to hold them to. We did a pretty good job of that. Our defense was very good. We played pretty well. We're becoming what I was hoping that we would become, and that is a very solid half-court basketball team. That's what you need to be to beat good teams at this level – you have to be able to score in your half-court offense and get stops in your half-court defense."
Players and coaches for Napa Valley faced the bleachers on the east side of the NVC gym as photos were taken with them and the championship trophy. The Storm went 3-0 in the tournament, with their other wins coming over Porterville College, 61-36, and College of the Canyons-Santa Clarita, 72-53.
"I think this is a huge boost for us, because we're on a winning streak, but this was a really good team," said Aguilar. "It was a huge win. It's definitely going to build our character. It's going to boost our energy. It's going to make us want to play harder."
It's the second straight year that Napa Valley reached the championship game of the Storm Surge.
"We're working hard; we're not tooting our own horn," said DeBolt. "We come in, we get our work done. We're playing hard. We're playing better. And I think as we get into (Bay Valley) conference, it gives us more confidence. We've got a long way to go, and we'll be ready."
Ashley Torres scored five points, Amiyah Murry and Jazelle Bolton each had four points, and Amya Sims had three points for Napa Valley.
The Storm was behind 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.
"We've been so tentative against a lot of teams," said DeBolt. "You've got to be decisive, and you've got to make good, quick decisions and move the ball. The ball moved really well sometimes tonight; I was impressed. We're passing well, we're catching well, we're getting good shots. So, I think it's that decisiveness throughout the team that was a big difference tonight."
Back-to-back baskets by Pollard keyed an 8-0 run, giving Napa Valley a 26-20 lead in the second quarter.
Two straight shots by Fontilla gave the Storm a 30-22 lead in the second quarter.
A three-point shot by Torres at the end of the quarter put the Storm in front by a six-point advantage, 35-29, at halftime.
"I feel like we progress each game, and the more we progress, the more we're going to get our name out there," said Pollard. "I feel like we're starting to figure out who we are, and each game is just getting better and better for us."
Thanks to an 11-0 run bridging the second and third quarters, Napa Valley surged to a 14-point lead, 43-29.
The Storm increased it to a 15-point advantage, 53-38 and 57-42 in the third quarter. They went on a 6-0 run in the quarter.
"It shows that it's the whole team that works together," said Butler. "We kept going. Nobody gave up and we just kept rolling. Everybody worked together. Everybody got points on the board. We just worked together really well."
Napa Valley, by outscoring Rio Hondo 22-15 in the third quarter, took a 13-point lead, 57-44, into the fourth quarter. Aguilar led the Storm with a 12-point third quarter. Fontilla had six points, all coming from the free-throw line.
Aguilar, a sophomore guard, and Fontilla, a sophomore point guard, were each named All-Bay Valley Conference for Napa Valley last year
"I love my teammates. Winning with them is a great feeling. My teammates trust me. I trust them," said Aguilar.
Rio Hondo had the lead in the first quarter, at 10-7 and 12-9. Rio Hondo also led in the second quarter, 18-15 and 20-18.
Rio Hondo came at Napa Valley hard with its press and trap.
"(Coach DeBolt) let us know, 'Just stay calm. Keep playing through it. Don't let it affect you.' We broke it," said Aguilar. "We like pressure. We like competing. So, it's just a good feeling being able to compete and being able to trust each other. Being able to click together, bond together, to just trust each other, on the court, is a good feeling."
Rio Hondo came all the way back from a 15-point deficit to close to within two of the Storm, 63-61.
"We sputtered a little bit, but our defense held it down," said DeBolt.
Two free throws by Fontilla moved the lead to four points, 65-61, with 2:43 to go. Two free throws by Murry gave the Storm a 67-61 lead with 2:02 to play.
Back-to-back baskets by Pollard and Fontilla put the Storm up, 71-63, with 42.7 seconds to go.
"This was a tough matchup, with (Rio Hondo) shooting 3's, getting fast breaks, getting all the deflections," said Pollard. "But I think the main point was that we kept our composure, we were able to stay calm and able to really just figure out what they were doing. We were getting a little stressed, but we were able to come back and get the win."
The greater depth in numbers and the versatility and options that it provides for DeBolt and his staff has given NVC a whole new look.
"We've got 11 players now who are all contributing," said DeBolt. "It's a group effort. We've got eight people who are definitely in the rotation a lot. We've got two or three others who are really pushing close, and we can use them when we need to use them.
"Marticia played so well today defensively. She is becoming more aggressive offensively. It's just nice to see. Her confidence is growing."
Rio Hondo, which is from the South Coast-North Conference, was led by Miranda Morales with 22 points and Adreinne Bausley with 12 points. Rio Hondo had eight 3-pointers and was 10-of-17 at the free-throw line.
All-Tournament team
Aguilar, the MVP of the tournament, scored 58 points in the three games for Napa Valley.
"She really played hard. She had a great tournament," said DeBolt.
Also, named to the All-Tournament team:
* Rio Hondo: Adreinne Bausley, Miranda Morales.
* Los Medanos College-Pittsburg: Kendall McClure, Eve Monzon.
* College of the Siskiyous-Weed: Alexes Collier.
* College of the Canyons: Gabriella Valles.
Other third-round games
* San Jose City College beat Porterville College, 89-33.
Hayley Johnson scored 22 points, Serendy McCoy scored 17 points, Synis Byrd scored 15 points, Ember Navarro had 12 points and Daven Woodnam had 12 points to lead San Jose City.
Porterville got nine points each from Jada Bravo and Jennifer Gonzalez.
* College of the Canyons won, 60-44 over Diablo Valley-Pleasant Hill.
Lili Martinez led Canyons, scoring 22 points. Kathy Artiga and Gabriella Valles each had 16 points.
Leading Diablo Valley with 13 points was Amani Boxdell.
* Los Medanos beat Siskiyous, 73-61.
Los Medanos had four players in double-figure scoring – Kendall McClure with 23 points, Eve Monzon with 18 points, Amaia Ayala with 12 points, Alysa Williams with 10 points.
Siskiyous got 16 points from Kaitlin Mandell, 14 points from Kady Lindstrom and 13 points from Alexas Collier.
This week's schedule for NVC women's basketball
Napa Valley has two games this week.
The Storm is at home on Monday, Dec. 15 for a nonconference game against Foothill College-Los Altos Hills at 5:30 p.m.
The Storm begins the Bay Valley Conference season on Thursday, Dec. 18 at College of Marin-Kentfield at 5 p.m.
* 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.