• Early Basketball Journey: Began playing basketball at age 7 and competed in AAU with Waynesboro Basketball Club, including national tournaments like the 2000 YBOA National Tournament at Walt Disney World.

• High School Success: A standout athlete at Wilson Memorial High School (1999–2003), Jessica excelled in basketball, soccer, and track:

  • Basketball:
    • Scored 1,014 career points, ranking as the 7th player in school history to achieve 1,000 points.
    • Senior year accolades: Shenandoah District Player of the Year, 1st Team All-District, All-Region, All-State honors, and team MVP.
    • Led her team to the State Quarterfinals and played in the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star Game.
  • Soccer:
    • 1st Team All-District, All-Region, and All-State in her senior year.
  • Track:
    • Competed in discus at the district and regional levels.
  • Named Wilson Memorial’s Most Outstanding Female Athlete in 2003 and recognized as a top-five all-time local girls’ basketball player by The Daily News Leader.

• College Athletics and Academics: Attended Bridgewater College, where she played basketball for four years:

  • Served as team captain during the 2006–2007 season and competed in the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen Tournament in 2006.
  • Earned All-ODAC Academic Team honors all four years.
  • Graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Science in 2007 and was awarded “Excellence in Academics” by the college’s Department of Health and Exercise Science.

• Professional Achievements:

  • Earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010.
  • Recipient of the prestigious AD Williams Award for academic and professional excellence.
  • Passionate about educating young athletes on injury prevention and guiding them to excel post-injury.

• Coaching Experience and VABA:

  • Coached at summer basketball camps in Augusta County, served as a camp counselor at Buzz Braman’s NBA Shooting Camp, and coached high school girls’ AAU basketball.
  • Joined VABA’s coaching staff in 2022 and is dedicated to promoting VABA’s mission throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

• Honors and Recognition:

  • Inducted into the Wilson Memorial High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.

 

Jessica has been involved with basketball in some form since she was 7 years old. She played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for the Waynesboro Basketball Club from 4th grade until 2002. In that time, she competed in numerous tournaments all over the country including the Youth Basketball of America National Tournament in 2000 held at
the Milk House in ESPN Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World.
She attended Wilson Memorial High School from 1999 to 2003. She was a member of Varsity Girls’ Basketball and Soccer teams all four years of her high school career and lettered in Track and Field her Sophomore and Senior year.

As a Freshman, Jessica was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the Varsity Girls’ Soccer team and was then named to the 1 st team All-Shenandoah District in Girls’ Soccer as a Sophomore. Her Junior year of sports was cut short due to an Anterior Cruciate
Ligament (ACL) injury in the middle of basketball season. She contributed to both the Varsity Girls’ Basketball and Soccer teams that year serving as team captain and encouraging her teammates from the sidelines. She was determined to not let the injury prevent her from achieving her athletic goals, and returned to the hardwood her Senior year leading the Hornets to the State Quarter Finals. As a Senior on the court, she was named the Shenandoah District Player of the Year, 1 st team All-Shenandoah District, 1st team All-Region B, 2 nd team All-State, 1 st team All-City/County, City/County Offensive Player of the Year, and the Most Valuable Player for the Hornet’s basketball team. She completed her basketball career at Wilson with 1014 points, becoming the school’s 7th Girls’ Basketball player to score 1000 career points. She was also invited and played in the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star Basketball Game in 2003. As a senior on the soccer field, she was named to the 1 st team All-Shenandoah District, All-
Region B, and All-State. She also finished 5 th in the discus at the Shenandoah District track meet and made an appearance in the Region B track meet in 2003. She was recognized as the school’s Most Outstanding Female Athlete in 2003. She was later selected by readers of The Daily News Leader as one of the top five All-Time Best Local
High School Girls’ Basketball players in December 2004.

Following high school graduation, Jessica attended Bridgewater College where she was a member of the Women’s Basketball team all four years. She was named to the All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) academic team all four years. She also made an appearance in the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen Tournament in 2006. She served as
the team captain for the Lady Eagles during the 2006-2007 season. She finished her college career at Bridgewater with 664 points and 410 rebounds. She graduated magna cum laude from Bridgewater College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Allied Health Science and was awarded “Excellence in Academics” by the Department of Health and Exercise Science at the college.

After college, she went on to Virginia Commonwealth University and obtained a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2010. There, she was awarded the AD Williams Award for high scholastic attainment and professional performance, unusual promise, and ability to contribute to the profession. Jessica’s high school athletic experience gave her a desire to become a physical therapist in order to educate young athletes on methods to decrease injury risk and to motivate those who experience injuries to achieve their highest physical performance through rehabilitation.

In 2015, Jessica was inducted into the Wilson Memorial High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Jessica has coached in multiple summer basketball camps in the Augusta County area all
through high school and college. She also had the opportunity to serve as a camp counselor in a shooting camp led by Buzz Braman, the NBA “Shot Doctor”. She also has experience coaching high school girls’ AAU while in college. She has been a member of the VABA coaching staff since 2022 and is excited to assist in expanding the VABA mission and principles throughout the Shenandoah Valley area!