DINUBA – Dinuba varsity girls have taken their play to a new level this season behind one of the most exciting players in the Central Section. Senior guard and captain Jalissa Espirito has emerged as the Emperors’ queen of the court, and when the ball is in her hands, a victory isn’t far behind.
Dinuba rode Espirito’s play to a dominating 76-8 league victory against Lemoore on Jan. 16. The Emperors also extended their current winning streak to four games and they grabbed the first victory in their new gym. Dinuba now improves to 12-5 overall on the season and they remain undefeated in the West Yosemite League (WYL) with a record of 3-0.
The Tigers couldn’t tame Espirito as she led all scorers with 23 points. Sophomore point guard Samantha Gonzalez chipped in with 10 points and Kathryn Forbes delivered 9 points.
Espirito scored the first seven points that pushed Dinuba out to a 17-0 run to open the game. Lemoore, suffocated all night by Dinuba’s stingy defense and plagued by poor execution, failed to gain any momentum or confidence needed to slow down the Emperors.
Dinuba head coach Mark Bray praised the strong play of Espirito and great team chemistry that led his team to another convincing victory.
“It’s a strong group, great chemistry. They play well together,” said Bray. “You have a player like Jalissa, who’s their leader, but we have other players who can score, and we play tremendous defense. It’s fun to coach.”
In the game, Espirito showcased the quickness, footwork and agility that makes her hard to defend. And on defense, she played tough man-to-man, aggressively challenged every shot and proved efficient underneath the board.
Her historic moment came in the third quarter. With the Emperors still having their way with the Tigers, Espirito received a pass near the top of the key. She stopped, set her feet, squared up and scored two points that gave her 1,000th point in her celebrated career. Confetti didn’t fall from the rafters, but both teams paused play to recognize Espirito’s fantastic achievement.
“It was one of my goals since my freshman year, and I want to thank my team for helping me,” Espirito said of her record-breaking shot.
Putting it all together
When Espirito made the varsity team as a freshman, she displayed the skills that are the hallmarks of her game. But like many young players, she needed to work on the fundamentals before taking her spot on the roster.
“As a freshman, we sent her down to JV for a little bit, but then we brought her back up, and she’s been just a tremendous player,” Bray said of Espirito’s development.
Once Espirito worked on a few things and honed her skills, she was put back on the varsity roster. And fortunately, for her and the Lady Emps, she never looked back.
Espirito eventually put it all together to become one of the top players in the Central Section and the state. This season, the 5’3 guard has averaged 22.7 points per game and snatched 5.4 steals per game. She also ranks #81 nationally in pts/32 and in the top-10 in the state in steals.
Back on Jan. 3, Espirito was named the Player of the Game in Dinuba’s 78-21 blowout against Kingsburg. In that game, Espirito lit up the Vikings for 31 points while shooting 67% from the field.
Dinuba has made the postseason every year since Espirito’s been running the show. And with the Emperors off to their best start in two seasons, they hope to ride her play all the way to an WYL title and a deep run through the playoffs.
“If we continue to play defense and play together, I think we’re going to make a nice run in the postseason,” said Bray about his team’s season. “We just have to keep doing the things that we’ve been doing well, and that’s going to carry over for us.”
Dinuba returns to league play on Jan. 21 when they travel for a rematch with Tulare Union. Back on Dec. 18, the Emperors thwarted The Tribe 62-38.
