Woods’ late free throws extend Edmonds-Woodway’s season
Published 11:24 pm Thursday, March 4, 2010
TACOMA — With the game — and their season — on the line, the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors knew what to do with the basketball.
Give it to Angela Woods.
Woods made seven of eight free throws in the final minute to help the Warriors stave off a quick, aggressive Federal Way team 55-52 Thursday in a loser-out game at the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
The victory moves the Warriors (23-3) into a matchup at 11 a.m. today against Lewis-Clark and one day closer to their goal of playing on Saturday.
“Our goal was never to win the state title,” said E-W coach Duane Hodges, whose young team is making its first state appearance in 17 years. “It was to win on the fourth day. That way if you lose on the first day, your goal is not diminished.”
As they did against Auburn Riverside in the opening round, the Warriors got off to a strong start. They opened an 18-8 lead early in the second quarter, an advantage built on the strength of their 3-point shooting. They hit four treys in the game’s first 10 minutes.
Federal Way likes to press from the opening whistle to the final buzzer, but backed off early because of a slew of injuries, including the loss of starting point guard Dara Huertas-Vining to a nasty sprained ankle in Wednesday’s opener.
“We usually like to press all game long,” Eagles coach Danny Graham said. “But we are so thin right now. We were trying to save legs. But when they got that (10-point) lead, it was now or never.”
The Eagles slapped on the full-court pressure and the move ignited a 14-8 run that helped them claw back into the game.
Talia Walton, a surprisingly mobile 6-foot-2 junior post with a soft shooting touch, keyed the run with three steals and nine points, including a banked in 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer.
E-W got hot from the outside again in the third quarter, hitting four more 3-pointers to open a 42-30 advantage going into the fourth quarter. But the Eagles’ relentless pressure started to wear down the Warriors. The Eagles went on a 16-6 run, cutting the difference to 48-46 with 1:32 remaining on a 3-pointer by Dyesha Belhumeur.
“I was calm on the outside, but panicking on the inside,” Hodges said of watching the Eagles whittle away the Warriors’ lead.
E-W calmed the coach’s frayed nerves by handing the ball to Woods.
She went to the foul line on four of the Warriors’ next five possessions and made seven of eight free throws.
“(The first time) I wasn’t all that nervous because there was so much time on the clock,” said Woods, a 78-percent foul shooter on the season. “As the clock wore down, I was little more nervous, but I’m pretty confident shooting free throws.”
After Woods’ final trip to the line — where she finally missed one of her two shots — the best the Eagles could do was launch a shot from midcourt that fell well short at the buzzer.
Woods and Sydney Donaldson each scored 17 points for the Warriors. Donaldson made five of the Warriors’ 10 3-point field goals. Ashley Albertson led E-W with 14 rebounds.
Walton had 20 points and seven rebounds for Federal Way (21-8).
At the Tacoma Dome
Edmonds-Woodway1115161355
Federal Way81482252
Edmonds-WoodwayKasper 11, Nash 0, Kenney 2, Tuuamalemalo 0, Albertson 8, Donaldson 17, Woods 17. Federal WayWalton 20, Campbell 2, Jones 2, Barrington 16, Belhumeur 3, Fuller 1, Dixon 8. 3-point goalsKasper 3, Donaldson 5, Woods 2, Walton 2, Barrington 4, Belhumeur 1. RecordsEdmonds-Woodway 23-3, Federal Way 21-8.
