Woods ends it for VC

The Santiam Christian senior scores 33 points in a 58-42 playoff win

By Miles Vance

The Beaverton Valley Times, Mar 5, 2010

UP FOR GRABS — Valley Catholic’s Jeni Picken battles for a rebound at Santiam Christian on Friday.

Miles Vance / Beaverton Valley Times

CORVALLIS – There were only two things that went wrong in Valley Catholic’s Class 3A girls state basketball playoff opener.

Tayla.

Woods.

Woods, a senior wing on the Santiam Christian girls team, poured in 33 points on Friday to help her team race past VC 58-42 at Santiam Christian High School. In the process, they denied the Valiants a fourth straight trip to the Class 3A state tournament. Valley Catholic, the West Valley League co-champion, ended its year at 19-7.

“Tayla Woods is a really amazing player and all her shots were going in,” said Valley Catholic senior post Jeni Picken. “She had one of the best games of her life and they’re a very good team.”

“I thought that the first quarter was probably the best individual effort I’ve seen in 3A basketball,” said Valley Catholic coach John Innes. “She had 20 in the first half and we were playing box-and-

one on her. It’s not like we were sitting back in our zone and letting her pick us apart. We had Rebecca Baglai on

her plus a helper and we couldn’t stop her. She was phenomenal.”

Indeed. With Woods on fire at the outset of the game – she hit five straight shots from the floor and both of her free throws, two assists and a steal — the Pac West Conference champion Eagles (23-3) raced out to a 23-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and took complete command of the game.

“We tried preparing for them, but things were just falling their way for the first quarter,” Picken said.

“Our plan all week long was to play defense on Tayla and we opened up in a special defense for her and what she did was respond and take over the basketball game,” Innes added.

The Valiants didn’t help themselves with a sub-par offensive performance in that first quarter either. While Woods was going crazy at the other end of the court, the Valiants went just 3-of-13 from the field in the game’s first eight minutes and also turned the ball over three times.

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