Around the College of San Mateo, there was a lot of talk about the great game that sophomore guard Janisa Jones played on Wednesday night.
"Basketball is my passion. So, I'm here for a reason, so I might as well express myself in a way that I like to express myself and if it's basketball, than that's what I'm going to do," said Jones.
All that night, Jones did: 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, made 11 points. And all of that came from a woman who just lost her house. It also was not just any house; it was the house in East Palo Alto that suffered the brunt of a fatal plane crash.
"I really do believe in guardian angels now, I swear," said Jones.
Jones, her mother, father, and sister were all inside their home when the plane hit.
"Then I hear a boom and sizzling, and I started shaking in my bed. I thought it was an earthquake, so I went back to sleep," said Jones.
That is a little hard to believe, unless you have a kid too. Jones said she really craves her sleep. It took a neighbor's help to get all of the family out.
"It was like, wow, our house. It was shocking to me. I couldn't believe what was happening, you know? My house has never been on fire before. It was really random, like it didn't feel real," said Jones.
The story being so random also helps make Wednesday night's game even more remarkable. It was amazing that Jones went on to an electrifying game and was there at practice on Thursday, still focused on the next big game Friday night.
"God must really want us to go to the playoffs, if he let me live," said Jones.
It is a great example of living in the moment. Wednesday, Jones' house caught fire and that night on a basketball court, she did the same.
