By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
WILLIAMSTOWN — Jaime Land, Williamstown High’s girls basketball coach, reached a significant milestone on Thursday night, but it certainly won’t be her most meaningful achievement when she looks back at this season.
The newest member of the 100-win club with a 45-25 victory over Cumberland, Land said she couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to coach her daughter, Avery, a freshman who’s playing basketball for the very first time.
“This just makes me nostalgic in a way, thinking about all the wins that I’ve had and all the players I’ve coached,” Land said of the milestone. “I’ve had really good players that I’ve coached, and it’s just a testament to them and how hard they work.”
“I love it,” she said of being able to coach Avery. “Every single team that I’ve coached has loved my kids with open arms. I think they’ve made her proud to be in Williamstown. I love being around here and seeing her every day, and I love coaching her and watching her work hard.”
Land, who’s in her seventh season at the helm, has guided the Braves to three 20-win seasons, highlighted by a South Jersey Group 4 championship game appearance during the 2023-2024 campaign, a 58-37 setback to Lenape.
“I’m very, very proud of her after all she’s been through with coaching, because sometimes it’s really rough, but I love it,” Avery said. “And I love just watching her coach, it’s very fun. I’m very proud of her.
“It means a lot. This is an amazing thing to be a part of. This is my first year ever playing basketball, so I really just love being here and supporting the team. My teammates bring positive energy, so it just makes me really happy.”
Land said she was surprised when Avery made the decision to come out for the sport before the season started. It’s turning out to be a pretty good decision.
“It’s her first year playing. I started coaching here when she was in third grade. For her to grow up watching the blue, she wanted to be a part of the Braves from the minute she came here. It’s great,” Land said. “She picked No. 2 because her favorite player to watch was (2025 graduate) Mia Pezzato last year. They’re great examples and role models for her, and she just wants to be a part of the team.
“I knew it was going to be hard for her first time. She’s on the freshman team, and she shows up every day and doesn’t complain. She’s happy, and that’s all I can hope for. I just want my kids to be happy. Seeing them happy — and my players love her — is just fun to see. She loves being a part of the team and she likes to work hard. I’m proud of her.”
This is the first season since 2020 without star point guard Alivia Mauz, who graduated as the Braves’ all-time leading scorer last year and is a freshman at West Chester University.
The Braves are loaded with underclassmen, as the roster features five freshmen, a sophomore and four juniors, with only two seniors on varsity. The Braves improved their record to 3-4 with the triumph and have a tough stretch of Tri-County Conference games coming up against the likes of Wildwood, Kingsway and Washington Township. They’ll start that stretch Saturday by hosting Wildwood at noon.
