For someone who’s always so happy, Felicity “Flip” Jones can sure frustrate others. Not her friends, family, teammates and coaches, mind you, but a select group of people with one thing common: Those who are guarded by Jones during a basketball game.
Jones is the defensive stopper for the College of Southern Idaho women’s basketball, the player who almost always draws the assignment of slowing the opposition’s best offensive player. It’s a role she relishes.
“I love it,” said Jones. “It’s a challenge. Every time we go to a game, and they put me on a player that they want to be stopped, it just pushes me to do a better job.”
The always-smiling Jones describes her personality as “outgoing, optimistic, always having a good attitude about stuff. I love to have fun. I love to be happy.”
She also loves to make opposing stars miserable.
On Feb. 12, Jones went up against Salt Lake Community College freshman Haley Holmstead, the NJCAA’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game. Holmstead finished the game 1-for-7 from the field and scored two points.
North Idaho’s leading scorer, freshman Kama Griffitts, had a similar experience with Jones last week. Griffitts came into last Friday’s game averaging 16.2 points but managed only eight against Jones, visibly frustrated during a 2-for-16 shooting night.
“Because she’s so athletic and so gifted, when she gives effort she’s pretty good,” CSI head coach Randy Rogers said of Jones.
And now the freshman from Utah’s Bear River High School is blossoming on the offensive end as well.
Jones is averaging just 4.1 points on 31-percent shooting for the season but has scored 7.1 per game through the past seven games and 9.3 in her last three outings.
In addition to shutting down Griffitts last week, Jones also tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in CSI’s upset of the No. 17 Cardinals. Jones’ offensive repertoire is a nice complement to fellow freshman guard Daidra Brown. While both possess quickness and are solid defenders, Brown excels at getting to the hoop and getting to the foul line, where she’s earned 125 free throw attempts this season. Jones prefers midrange jumpers and has put up only 22 foul shots all season.
“We think Flip can get to the rim even more because she’s got quickness on almost everyone she plays against,” said Rogers. “Sometimes she just doesn’t trust her ability to get all the way there. Saying that, we don’t mind that 12-foot pull-up, because she’s getting pretty effective with it.”
“I like to get to the rim, but my problem is finishing when I get there,” said Jones. “My pull-up, I worked on it all through high school.”
It shows as Jones can hit her midrange shot from all angles, often while being off-balance or fading away from the hoop.
But no matter how many points she scores, Jones always maintains that she prefers a big stop over a big basket — a rare trait among basketball players. But Jones has always stood out from the crowd. She was born and raised in the small and predominantly white town of Tremonton, Utah, after her father left Amarillo, Texas, in search of space and outdoor activities.
“It was really weird to be honest,” Jones said of growing up in Tremonton. “It took a while to get used to. But once you got older, you had more recognition because people knew who you were. It was different. But I’m glad I grew up in a small town like that.”
As for her nickname, that was given to her by her sister’s friend and soon picked up by her family. When she told CSI’s players her name was Felicity during her recruiting trip last season, she was told that was too long. “Well, my family calls me ‘Flip,’” she replied. The nickname stuck with her the way she sticks to opponents.
Her ability, coupled with that of Brown and freshman post Laurel Kearsley will give CSI three talented players to build around next season.
“Couldn’t ask for any better start to a new team,” said Rogers.
But the current Golden Eagles (20-8, 12-6 Scenic West Athletic Conference) are far from through. After hosting SWAC cellar-dwellers Colorado Northwestern Community College (5:30 p.m., today) and the College of Eastern Utah (3 p.m., Saturday), CSI will set its sights on the winning the March 4-6 Region 18 Tournament and earning a berth to the NJCAA Tournament in Salina, Kan.
Two wins this week will likely give the Eagles the No. 2 seed for the region tourney. There’s also an outside shot at a share of the SWAC crown if Snow College (21-7, 12-6) sweeps first-place Salt Lake (22-5, 14-4) this week, which could result in a four-way tie for the title.
“These last few games that we’ve played, we’ve played really good,” said Jones. “All the things we’ve been working on and pushing about, they finally came together when we played NIC and Salt Lake. That’s our team. As long as we play like that, keep doing the things that we’re doing, I think we’ll be a really good team.”
College of Southern Idaho freshman guard Felicity Jones has become a defensive standout for the Golden Eagles. (MEAGAN THOMPSON/Times-News)
