Posted: Jan 29, 2026
By MARTY JAMES
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
The Napa Valley College women's basketball team began the second half of the Bay Valley Conference
season in a big way on Wednesday night, beating College of Marin-Kentfield in a key game, 67-63, as
Arianna Aguilar's 19 points led three players in double-figure scoring.
Jazmine Fontilla scored 16 points, Layla Butler scored 13 points, and Marticia Pollard had 16 rebounds as
Napa Valley got right back in the conference race, surging into a third-place tie and also keeping its
hopes alive of getting into the California Community College Athletic Association-Northern California
Regional Championships.
"It's a good team win," Storm coach Paul DeBolt said. "It gets us in the mix. We didn't play perfect, but
we played well enough to win it at the end."
Napa Valley (15-6 overall, 4-4 Bay Valley Conference) answered Marin's 10-2 run to start the fourth
quarter, with the Mariners in the lead at 57-55 with 7:25 to go. The Storm battled back, outscoring Marin
12-6 down the stretch with a combination of great defense, discipline and composure.
"It's a really big win, because the last time we played them, we weren't really prepared as much. But
now we were really prepared. We watched film and we went through our sets," said Butler, who is
having an outstanding freshman season for the Storm, averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists
per game.
"I just do what I do. Practice hard and try to be the best I can be to help my team out."
In avenging an earlier-season loss to Marin, the Storm got standout play from so many players, both
starters and those coming off the bench.
It was Aguilar with three 3-pointers, going 4-of-7 from the free-throw line, getting five rebounds and two
steals.
It was Fontilla going 9-of-12 at the free-throw line and getting three rebounds and five assists.
It was Butler going 6-of-10 shooting from the field, getting two rebounds and four assists.
"Layla made some big shots," said DeBolt. "She still is a young player. She's starting to grow up. She's
very competitive."
It was Amya Sims scoring six points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, to go along with four rebounds.
It was Pollard scoring six points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field.
It was Jazelle Bolton with seven rebounds, two assists and three points.
It was Helena White with three points, two rebounds and two steals.
It was Briana Alday with three rebounds and Amiyah Murry with two rebounds.
"This was definitely a huge win, especially since they beat us in the first half of the conference," said
Fontilla, who is averaging 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. "I feel like, since today was
the start of the second half of the conference, we got a little push. Having the first win of the second
half, we will just continue to bring that momentum throughout the second half of the conference, and
just get after everybody that beat us in the first half."
There are just six games to go in the 2025-26 regular season for the Storm.
Laney College-Oakland (17-3 overall, 8-0 Bay Valley) is in first place in the conference.
Merritt College-Oakland (12-8 overall, 7-1 Bay Valley) is in second place.
Napa Valley is tied for third place with Los Medanos College-Pittsburg (14-8 overall, 4-4 Bay Valley),
Marin (12-10 overall, 4-4 Bay Valley), and Solano Community College-Fairfield (9-12 overall, 4-4 Bay
Valley).
"I feel like the Laney game woke us up, because we played really hard against them," said Butler. "We
saw how good we can be. So, it's just going to go up from there."
Napa Valley held off Marin late in the fourth quarter, with a 6-0 run that included two free throws from
Fontilla, a basket from Aguilar and a basket from Butler, giving the Storm a 61-57 lead.
Marin came back to tie it, 61-61, with 2:40 to go.
"We didn't let the run or the score affect how we're playing. We just picked it up. We just continue to
play our game and just regroup mentally, and then we were able to get back in it," said Fontilla.
A 3-point shot from Aguilar moved the Storm in front, 64-61, with 58.7 seconds to go.
Butler's free throw pushed NVC's lead to 65-61 with 10.9 seconds to go.
Marin closed to within two points, at 65-63 with 6.4 seconds to go.
Aguilar's free throw put the Storm ahead by three points, 66-63 with 4.8 seconds to play.
Marin was called for a 5-second inbound time violation, resulting in a turnover.
Marin was also assessed a technical foul.
"We found a way to do it, and that's good," said DeBolt. "This is a good win for the program. I felt like the
first half, we just had some adversity, things didn't go our way.
"We just take these one at a time."
Marin had a 14-12 lead in the first quarter.
NVC was ahead 32-29 at halftime. The Storm took a 53-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
"I thought we rebounded better. Marticia had a great game. She had a ton of rebounds and she made
some big shots for us," said DeBolt.
DeBolt had high praise for the job Aguilar did on defense, against Jaidyn Brown, who scored 12 points.
"(Aguilar) did a great job on her. That's a tough assignment, and she stuck with it," said DeBolt.
Jamaia Harrison scored 16 points and Bella Turner had 14 points for Marin.
Marin had four 3-pointers and was 17-of-24 from the free-throw line.
NVC shot 36.7 percent from the field (22-of-60), 25.0 percent from the 3-point line (4-of-16), and 61.3
percent from the free-throw line (19-of-31). The Storm had 45 rebounds, 14 assists, six steals and three
blocked shots.
The Storm's next game is on Friday, Jan. 30 at Los Medanos 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.
saw how good we can be. So, it's just going to go up from there."
Napa Valley held off Marin late in the fourth quarter, with a 6-0 run that included two free throws from
Fontilla, a basket from Aguilar and a basket from Butler, giving the Storm a 61-57 lead.
Marin came back to tie it, 61-61, with 2:40 to go.
"We didn't let the run or the score affect how we're playing. We just picked it up. We just continue to
play our game and just regroup mentally, and then we were able to get back in it," said Fontilla.
A 3-point shot from Aguilar moved the Storm in front, 64-61, with 58.7 seconds to go.
Butler's free throw pushed NVC's lead to 65-61 with 10.9 seconds to go.
Marin closed to within two points, at 65-63 with 6.4 seconds to go.
Aguilar's free throw put the Storm ahead by three points, 66-63 with 4.8 seconds to play.
Marin was called for a 5-second inbound time violation, resulting in a turnover.
Marin was also assessed a technical foul.
"We found a way to do it, and that's good," said DeBolt. "This is a good win for the program. I felt like the
first half, we just had some adversity, things didn't go our way.
"We just take these one at a time."
Marin had a 14-12 lead in the first quarter.
NVC was ahead 32-29 at halftime. The Storm took a 53-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
"I thought we rebounded better. Marticia had a great game. She had a ton of rebounds and she made
some big shots for us," said DeBolt.
DeBolt had high praise for the job Aguilar did on defense, against Jaidyn Brown, who scored 12 points.
"(Aguilar) did a great job on her. That's a tough assignment, and she stuck with it," said DeBolt.
Jamaia Harrison scored 16 points and Bella Turner had 14 points for Marin.
Marin had four 3-pointers and was 17-of-24 from the free-throw line.
NVC shot 36.7 percent from the field (22-of-60), 25.0 percent from the 3-point line (4-of-16), and 61.3
percent from the free-throw line (19-of-31). The Storm had 45 rebounds, 14 assists, six steals and three
blocked shots.
The Storm's next game is on Friday, Jan. 30 at Los Medanos 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.