SAN JACINTO COLLEGE Women’s basketball ends season with first-ever national tournament appearance

The San Jacinto College women’s basketball team takes a timeout during its game against Harford Community College at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) basketball national championship. (Photo by Joe Morales, Rapid Shotz Photography.)
The San Jacinto College women’s basketball team takes a timeout during its game against Harford Community College at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) basketball national championship. (Photo by Joe Morales, Rapid Shotz Photography.)

Season concludes with overall 24-9 record and three letters of intent

PASADENA, Texas – The 2016-2017 season proved to be a significant year for the San Jacinto College women’s basketball team, as it ended the season with its first appearance at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Basketball Championship.

San Jac completed its season with an overall record of 24-9, including 15 conference wins, earning them a bid to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship tournament. The team went into the tournament as the No.16 seed and faced No. 17 Harford Community College (29-3). It also advanced to the semifinals of the Region XIV tournament, defeating Jacksonville College (10-15) in the quarterfinals before falling to Kilgore College (21-11) in the semifinals.

Sophomore guard/forward Ariona Gill (Las Vegas, Nevada/Arbor View HS) recently signed a National Letter of Intent with St. Mary’s University and sophomore forwardJasmine James (Innisfil, Ontario/ Nantyr Shores Secondary School) signed a National Letter of Intent with the The University of Memphis to continue their education and basketball careers. Amieya Jackson also signed a National Letter of Intent withArkansas Tech University.

“These past two years San Jac has made history and it was great to have experienced that and to have played under amazing coaches and with such talented people. My next step is to further my education and basketball career at the next level,” said James.

On the season, Eryka Sidney (Houston, Texas/ Wheatley HS) lead the team in single game 3-points made with 7 per game. She also lead the team in single season 3points made with 73 in total and was third in the region for 3-point percentage. Gill lead the team in total rebounds in a season with 303 and is the team’s all-time leading rebounder with 467. In addition, she was third in the the region for rebounds per game at 9.5.

Several players received all-american, all-region, and all-conference honors. Sidney earned honorable mention all-American and was named Region XIV freshman of the year. Sidney and Gill were selected to the all-Region XIV team, making them two of the top 10 players in the Region. The pair, along with sophomore James were named to the all-conference team.

After being named the Region XIV Coach of the Year and following two successful seasons at the helm of San Jac women’s basketball, Head Coach Michael Madrid took an assistant coaching position at the University of Texas – El Paso. Kayla Weaver,former assistant coach of the San Jac women’s basketball team, will be taking over as head coach for the upcoming season.

For more information about the San Jacinto College women’s basketball team visit the San Jacinto College athletics website.