Former Notre Dame Standout, Jessica Ross, Proving She Can Play
at Next Level
Santa Clara – She’s not putting up the 18.6 points she averaged as a senior on Notre Dame High’s girls basketball team last year. And there’s no undefeated league season to enjoy.
But make no mistake: Jessica Ross is living the good life in Malibu.
“I’m loving it right now,” said Ross after a homecoming of sorts at Santa Clara’s Leavey Center Thursday night. “I’m having a great time. I can’t even explain it.”
Against the Broncos, a West Coast Conference foe, the Gilroy native got to show her off her college game for the first time back in the South Bay.
And the Ross fan club – which took up nearly the entire section behind the Pepperdine bench – didn’t have to wait long to see the product.
The 5-foot-10 freshman, wearing No. 31, started at guard for the Waves for the 13th straight game.
The fans cheered especially loud as Ross was announced and waved their homemade signs which included the messages “Go Waves!” and “Ross is the Boss”.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a winning debut for Ross. Pepperdine dug itself into an 18-point hole in the first half. The Waves mounted a comeback in the second half to eventually tie the game at 62 with about a minute and a half to play. But it wasn’t enough and the young team fell 67-62 for its second WCC loss. Ross finished with four points, five rebounds and two steals.
Those aren’t the numbers South Valley basketball fans are used to seeing from the girl who led Notre Dame to three-straight undefeated Tri-County Athletic League seasons. But the presence that made Ross a one-man show at the Salinas school? It’s there.
There was Ross stopping Santa Clara star Michelle Cozad as she drove to the basket four minutes into the first half.
There was Ross crashing the boards for rebounds amongst taller and bigger players.
And last Thursday, there was Ross getting a steal and blocking a shot to help the Waves beat Gonzaga in the final moments of overtime.
“I’m just doing what I can to be on the court right now and I have no problem with being a role player and being the defensive player and being the passer,” Ross said. “I just want to help my team win games.”
Pepperdine women’s basketball head coach Julie Rousseau didn’t originally have Ross on her recruiting radar back when the guard was starring for the Spirits.
But when another college coach told Rousseau about Ross, she decided to check out just what the first team All-Central Coast Section player could do.
“A colleague said, ‘Hey, you need to look at this kid,'” second-year coach Rousseau said. “She was on their recruiting list at one point and said they couldn’t sign her. I started looking at her and saying, ”Wow, I really like what she does.”
Two-and-a-half months into Ross’ freshman season, Rousseau still feels that way.
“I tell you, I’m very blessed and fortunate to have her,” Rousseau said. “She gives us a presence out there that we can always rely on and I’m just so thankful and grateful that she came to Pepperdine because I love what she’s doing for us.”
The freshman admitted her shooting hasn’t been as up to par as she would like. That haunted her as she was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one opportunity with 51.3 seconds left in the game and her team down 66-62 to the Broncos. Ross’ attempt bounced around the rim and out.
“My shooting’s been off the last couple games,” Ross said. “But I’ll get that back.”
Though Ross’ shooting hasn’t been consistent, Rousseau said the rest of her game has been.
“Jess is probably one of our most consistent players day in and day out,” Rousseau said. “She brings it every game. And that’s huge, particularly for a young player.”
Rousseau calls Ross a player with “a high basketball I.Q.” and “one of the biggest competitors I’ve ever seen.” Coming from a coach who was the head coach for the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks and spent four years as an assistant under Tara Van Der Veer at Stanford, that’s saying a lot.
Though the life of a college athlete has left Ross with “no social life” and a hectic schedule that revolves around basketball and classes, Ross has found life in SoCal to have its perks, including having a tan in January.
“Being part of a team, it’s so much energy playing DI sports,” she said.
