Jayda Jackson’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 5:51 left in the third quarter on Thursday had special meaning for the fourth-year guard from Manteca High.
It was for mom.
Turns out she also reached a career milestone.
Welcome to the 1,000-point club, kid.
Jackson led four Buffaloes in double figures with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and they fended off a late comeback charge from youthful host Sierra for a 67-56 win.
“At halftime I was practicing my 3s and I was like, ‘Mom, this is for you,’” Jackson said. “When I made it that was for her, but I didn’t know what the commotion was about.”
She just so happen to sink the long ball right in front of her mom and the rest of the family in attendance. Jackson had a wide smile on her face as she turned and scrambled to the other end of the court to play defense. Then she noticed her teammates’ unusual reaction.
That’s because the 3, which gave Manteca (3-0 Valley Oak League, 13-5 overall) a 39-25 lead, put her right at 1,000 points for her career. She later emerged out of the visitors’ locker room with flowers and other gifts from the team.
“I walked into the locker room after the game and everyone was screaming,” Jackson said. “I was like, ‘Am I getting asked out? What’s going on?’
“I didn’t even know. I didn’t know I was close. They kept it a big secret.”
Ryan Bono was glad to share the moment with the only player whom he has coached in all four of his years as Manteca head coach. He plans on stepping down after the season.
“It’s pretty neat,” Bono said. “Jayda is a great person and I am absolutely happy for her. We were hoping she’d get those 11 points.”
She did that and more in helping Manteca keep pace with fellow defending VOL co-champion Kimball, which posted a big win over East Union on Thursday.
Jackson main contribution down the stretch was as distributor, as she fed Paige Peterson for two of her five buckets in the period. Peterson, the Buffaloes’ much-improved low-post player, finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Kyaira Jacobs and Marissa Serrano also had 14 points apiece. Jacobs scored 11 of her points in the first half, while Serrano accounted for four of the Buffaloes’ eight 3s. Jaslyn Woods contributed seven points and 10 rebounds.
Manteca led for most of the contest and by as much as 17, 51-34, on Woods’ 3 from the top of the arc late in the third quarter, but the pesky Timberwolves (1-2, 12-6) continued to scrap well into the fourth.
Sierra forced turnovers and ill-advised shot attempts with its pressure defense. Brianna Parker buried a corner 3 with 3:43 to go, and just like that the T’wolves were back in the ball game down 58-51. Maneca answered with an 8-2 run comprising of three layups from Peterson and a runner from Jackson.
“I felt that we didn’t keep our composure tonight and we had some careless turnovers,” Bono said. “You tip your hat to Sierra, of course, but hopefully we can learn from this. (Sierra) is young, they’re scrappy, and we didn’t play like a veteran team tonight.”
Parker topped all scorers with 18 points, and Marci Chaparro added 15. Natalie Dias, Sierra’s lone senior starter, contributed eight points.
“We’re just super proud of how they played overall,” Sierra coach Rashonne Founts said. “We have four freshmen starting against a team that has mainly seniors. For us, the big thing was to come out and compete and I think that they showcased that as best as they could.