Wilson’s Laila Jones Reaches 1,000 Points in Just Three Seasons on Senior Night
- Sean McBryan
- Jan 23
- 6 min read
Wilson senior Laila Jones didn’t need much time Thursday night to make history.
Needing just four points to reach 1,000 for her career, Jones drilled her second 3-pointer of the game with 4:20 remaining in the first quarter, pushing her to the milestone in front of a packed home gym on Senior Night as the Bulldogs cruised to a 67-36 win over Exeter.
The moment was fitting, coming on a confident step-back 3, the kind of shot that has defined Jones’ scoring ability since she cracked the varsity lineup as a freshman.
“I didn’t know when it was gonna come, but it felt good,” Jones said. “The little step back and then it went in, took it to 1,000. So, it’s all good.”
Jones finished with 21 points, five assists, and three rebounds, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half alone. She had 18 points by halftime as Wilson jumped out to a commanding 24-9 first-quarter lead, with Violet Houck adding six of her 10 points and Jones scoring 13 in the opening frame.
The win moved Wilson to 9-0 in Berks I and 16-2 overall, while Jones became the 14th girl in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Jones has overcome a lot of adversity on her path to the milestone. After a strong start to her career, she missed her entire junior season with a torn ACL.
“No, no doubt,” Jones said when asked if she ever questioned whether she’d get to 1,000 points. “This was always a goal. And honestly, going through the injury, this is one of the things I wanted to accomplish.”
Even while sidelined, Jones remained a central figure within the program. Her leadership off the court helped juniors Kailani Hardy and Ryan Leaman and sophomore Jade Lee blossom, which in turn has created a juggernaut in West Lawn now that the team is at full strength this season.
“She’s scored 1,000 points in three years, and then the year she had off with the knee injury, she was a great leader, and stayed connected to our team and helped us win games in that way,” Wilson head coach Matt Raquet said. “She is just an unbelievable player and person off the court. Can’t say enough about her.”
Jones admitted the moment carried emotion, especially given the obstacles she’s faced along the way.
“It feels great,” she said. “The fact I could accomplish this means everything to me. I mean, always doubted, never perfect. Kind of glad it just came. And it’s a little overwhelming, but it all feels good.”
Jones now joins an exclusive list of Wilson scorers that includes names she grew up hearing about — Avery Marz, Jessie Wallace, Zakiyah Winfield, and Kaya Burkhart among them — even if she wasn’t old enough to fully remember them dominating, or because she was playing basketball herself.
Wilson 1,000-Point Club | |
|---|---|
Adrienne Reese | 1,634 |
Sheila Stufflet (Ressler) | 1,558 |
Vicki Quimby (Nigrini) | 1,550 |
Nancy Keene | 1,364 |
Vanessa Rivera | 1,363 |
Missy Sallade | 1,354 |
Carly Brew | 1,277 |
Sue Zimmerman | 1,250 |
Jessie Wallace | 1,224 |
Zakiyah Winfield | 1,144 |
Kaya Burkhart | 1,115 |
Avery Marz | 1,062 |
Laila Jones | 1,017 |
Jen Miles | 1,012 |
“Growing up, it wasn’t really a thing besides on youth night,” Jones said about attending Wilson games as a child. “But definitely, when they got up there [toward 1,000], I heard of it, and was trying to eventually be up on that roster with them too.”
By the time the Bulldogs' season is over, which looks like that'll be in March at this rate, she could be above many of those former players on the list.
Thursday was also Senior Night for Jones, Houck, Laura Crocona, Janai Tisdale, Grace Robinson, and Maddie Taylor. That group has navigated injuries, a coaching change from Chris Gallo to Raquet after their sophomore seasons, and multiple deep postseason runs.
“It definitely means a lot that our core group of girls stick together no matter,” Jones said. “It’s all showing out on the court.”
It certainly did Thursday night.
After Jones' second 3 and Houck's bucket pushed the lead to eight, Exeter's precocious sophomore Addison Harper converted an and-one to make it 12-7 with 3:41 left in the first quarter.
Jones scored two straight baskets before Harper, who finished with a team-high 18 points, responded again to make it 16-9.
Wilson just had too many weapons. Houck scored again to push the lead to eight and Jones and Hardy hit back-to-back 3s to make it 24-9 after the first quarter. The Eagles (6-3 Berks II, 11-6), who now hold a half-game divisional lead over Twin Valley, never cut the deficit to single digits again.
The Bulldogs shot over 50 percent from the field and exactly 50 percent from 3-point range, continuing a year in which they are averaging a Berks-high 57.8 points per game and winning by an average of 25 points. They forced Exeter into 23 turnovers, many due to their full-court pressure, while only committing 11 themselves.
“The good thing about this team is that they put winning first and they share the ball,” Raquet said. “It could be anybody on any given night.”
Jones led the way, but Houck (10 points), Hardy (10), Lee (nine), and Crocona (seven) all had their scoring stretches and 10 total Bulldogs put the ball through the hoop.
Jones (12.7), Hardy (11.3), Houck (7.4), Leaman (7.4), Crocona (7.3), and Lee (5.9) are all scoring 5.0 points per game or more. The team has scored 60 or more points in six straight games and in half of their 18 games this season.
“We have our first goal to get the county championship, so push into that,” Jones said. “We’re gonna practice getting one percent better every day. I keep saying it, but the group that we have is just so special.”
A win over Gov. Mifflin next Monday would clinch the Bulldogs their third consecutive Berks I title and likely the No. 1 seed in the BCIAA tournament since they have a significant advantage in District 3 power ranking over the field. They remain locked into the No. 4 spot in the District 3 Class 6A power rankings behind Red Lion, Central Dauphin, and Dallastown.
With a deep rotation that includes freshmen Mariam Osumanu and Lila Houck, this version of Wilson may be the deepest Jones has been part of and one capable of bringing county and district hardware back to West Lawn for the first time in 12 years plus making a run in states.
Overall, this senior class has gone 75-26 in their careers, but two stinging losses in the Berks semifinals, one in the Berks championship, and one each in the District 3 quarterfinals and semifinals during that time provides plenty of motivation.
“If we keep putting winning first, we’re a championship-level team at any level,” Raquet said. “But we have to earn it.”
For Jones, Thursday night was years in the making because of everything it took to get there. The early expectations, the injury that cost her an entire season, and the patience and dedication required to come back.
Negative points don’t exist in basketball. Jones’ 1,000 are permanent, written in ink in Wilson’s record book. While the milestone will last forever, Jones’ and Wilson’s story is still being written.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Wilson | 24 | 19 | 16 | 8 | 67 |
Exeter | 9 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 36 |
Bulldogs (9-0 Berks I, 16-2) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
V. Houck | 5-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
Jones | 8-12 | 0-0 | 5-7 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
Leaman | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Crocona | 2-4 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Hardy | 4-10 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
Tisdale | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Lee | 4-7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
Osumanu | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
L. Houck | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Taylor | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Robinson | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Santiago | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Totals | 25-49 | 7-10 | 10-20 | 14 | 20/23 | 67 |
Eagles (6-3 Berks II, 11-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
Flood | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Dauble | 2-8 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
Harper | 8-11 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
Keperling | 2-6 | 2-2 | 0-2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Freese | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Hassler | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Dolan | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
M. Karasek | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Turman | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
Totals | 15-38 | 5-6 | 1-9 | 2 | 23/27 | 36 |
Turnovers: Wilson 11, Exeter 23. Team rebounds: Wilson 3, Exeter 4.