Laila Jones Back to Form as Deep Wilson Overwhelms Berks Catholic in Division Opener
- Sean McBryan
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
With senior point guard Laila Jones back on the court and a talented group joining her, Wilson girls basketball is looking downright scary.
Jones, who returned to the court in June after a torn ACL forced her to miss her entire junior year, was everywhere Tuesday night.
She scored 14 points, dished out five assists, and swiped six steals as the Bulldogs suffocated Berks Catholic 58-26 in a Berks I opener in West Lawn.
“It definitely feels great being around my teammates again,” Jones said. “The bond that we have is very special. It just feels great to be able to do something that you love with the people that you love.”
With Jones back directing traffic, the experienced Bulldogs (1-0 Berks I, 4-0 overall) look deep and composed, now winning their first four games of the season by an average of 27 points with other victories over Emmaus, McCaskey, and Central York.
“She has this calming presence on the floor,” Wilson head coach Matt Raquet said of Jones. “She just makes everybody better. She makes everybody’s life a little bit easier.”
Jones' class also features athletic post Violet Houck, all-around wing Laura Crocona (Kutztown commit), and defensive-minded guard Janai Tisdale — all seniors who have been contributing since they were freshmen.
When Jones faced adversity last season, she remained a vocal leader and helped build something even more dangerous. With her sidelined, 2027 wing Kailani Hardy (an All-Berks pick as a sophomore), 2027 guard Ryan Leaman (North Carolina lacrosse commit), and 2028 post Jade Lee all took major leaps in production.
Their impact has remained even with Jones, a two-time All-Berks pick, back on the court.
“No matter what role we played [in the game], nobody cares," Jones said. "The standard stays the same."
Jones could easily be chasing points as she inches closer to 1,000 points for her career. (She's now at 838.) The victory is all that matters. She scored three points in the season-opening win over Emmaus as Hardy went off for 21.
"We have a lot of depth and the contributions can come from anybody on any given night," Raquet echoed. "We talk a lot about being happy for other's success and playing unselfishly."
Add in freshman Lila Houck, Violet’s sister, and Mariam Osumanu and Wilson's deep rotation packs an even bigger punch capable of swarming full-court defensive pressure and pushing the pace offensively.
“We were trying to get out and pressure,” Raquet said of their approach against Berks Catholic. “But we want to do that almost against anybody. It’s just the style our players and I like to play — full court, full speed.”
The Bulldogs caused 20 first-half and 34 overall turnovers by Berks Catholic.
The young Saints (0-1, 1-2) started three sophomores and were led in scoring by freshman Jaylianni Ortiz's eight points They fought in the second quarter after trailing 17-4 after the first, cutting the lead to 27-16 at halftime.
The floodgates opened in the third quarter as Jones started to find easy buckets for Houck, who scored eight points and went 4-for-4.
Hardy and Jones each hit a 3 and scored five third-quarter points and suddenly Wilson led 49-24 heading to the fourth, when both teams emptied their benches.
The Bulldogs have won back-to-back Berks I titles, but have lost some heartbreakers in the BCIAA tournament that have prevented them from winning the county gold that has eluded them since 2014.
"Every year, 2014 sits on our banner," Jones said. "And we're tired of looking at it."
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Wilson | 17 | 10 | 22 | 9 | 58 |
Berks Catholic | 4 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 26 |
Bulldogs (1-0, 4-0) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
V. Houck | 5-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
Jones | 6-10 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
Leaman | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
Crocona | 3-7 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
Hardy | 7-9 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
Lee | 3-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Osumanu | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Tisdale | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
L. Houck | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Santiago | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Robinson | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Taylor | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Reyes | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wagner | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Serrano | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 26-57 | 1-2 | 5-17 | 14 | 20/23 | 58 |
Saints (0-1, 1-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Linderman | 1-4 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Welker | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Cannon | 1-5 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
Zudie | 1-1 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
Ford | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Ortiz | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Hopkins | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Roberts | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pegram | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Franks | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fiore | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 8-26 | 8-9 | 2-7 | 0 | 26/29 | 26 |
Turnovers: Berks Catholic 34, Wilson 13. Team rebounds: Berks Catholic 3, Wilson 3.