Poole-born and raised James has scored in both games played by the AFC Bournemouth women’s team at Dean Court this season, netting a brace against Swindon Town before scoring against Rovers.
Her strike on Sunday came with the game finely poised at 1-0, as the Cherries sought to put the game to bed, knowing a win would secure them the National League Division One South West title.
James, who has been a regular starter for the club since joining ahead of the 2021/22 season, stepped up and volleyed home from a pinpoint Ellie Strippel cross with just over 20 minutes to play.
_(Image: Richard Crease)_ Asked how much she enjoys scoring in front of the Dean Court crowd, James told the Daily Echo: “There's no better place to do it!
“I'm a local girl, so it means a lot for me to score here and hopefully there's many more to come.”
On the goal, James said: “Ellie's got great feet, I knew she was going to cut back on her right and put it in and I knew I had to get to the back post.
“To be honest, I was pretty close to the goal when I put it in, so I just thought, don't put it over the bar or anything. But I was glad to see it in the back of the net.”
James said she was ‘ecstatic’ to win the title and gave huge credit to her teammates, saying: “The girls have put in a shift all year and I'm just glad that we could get it over the line, especially at the Vitality in front of all the fans.”
_(Image: Richard Crease)_ The Cherries have won all 18 of their league games so far this season, with the victory on Sunday mathematically securing them the title with four games to play.
Asked what she would have said if someone had told her the team would have that record and would have sealed the title by this stage of the campaign before the season, James said: “To be honest, with the season we had last year, I probably wouldn't believe them.
“It was really hard to go the whole season last season unbeaten and to do it again so far is unbelievable.
“And I think it's everyone's goal at the club to go to the end of the season now without losing a game.”
_(Image: Richard Crease)_ It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Cherries in the past week to take the crown, goalkeeper Erin Foley saving a stoppage time penalty against Moneyfields in the week to preserve their lead, before they won in a tight game against Rovers.
On Sunday’s game, James said: “We were really disappointed with the first half.
“It wasn't how we wanted to start the game. I think the first goal got us a little bit settled, and then second half, I think we were a lot better.
“Still not the levels we quite wanted to hit, but it's been a tough week with the three games, so a little bit of slack and then obviously the goal at the end just sealed it for us.”