Woods leads Warriors over Meadowdale

Published 11:13 pm Monday, January 19, 2009

EDMONDS — A clash between first and second-place teams is supposed to be a battle and Monday night’s game between the Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale girls basketball teams lived up to the billing.

The Warriors used strong second-half defense to take control of the game and put away a pesky Meadowdale team, 57-45, in a Western Conference South showdown at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

The crosstown rivals physically battled and contested almost every shot that was attempted, but Meadowdale had a tough time corralling the Warriors’ 5-foot-10 sophomore Angela Woods, who finished the fast-paced matchup with a game-high 23 points to go along with team-highs in rebounds (nine), assists (five) and steals (three).

After falling behind by seven points in the third quarter, the Mavericks (9-3, 8-2 league) stormed back behind the shooting of junior Gabi Beyer to tie the score at 36-36 with 2:21 left in the quarter.

It was then that Meadowdale lost some concentration, according to head coach Troy Parker, and allowed E-W (11-1, 10-0 league) to take control. The Warriors put together a game-clinching 13-2 run spanning more than five minutes between the third and fourth quarters.

“(Edmonds-Woodway) is a solid team,” Parker said. “They’re a team that causes you fits because they can spread the floor so well with their offense.”

After the run, the Warriors stretched their lead to 10 and Meadowdale never closed the gap.

Up 24-20 at the half, E-W head coach Wayne Edwards pushed his team to play to its potential.

“We were playing timid,” said Warriors senior post Abby Butler. “We weren’t playing our game.

“Coach told us we need to calm down and play like we know how to play.”

Edwards added: “I told them we needed to get into playing our game; we didn’t need to have a vote on that.”

Both teams came out firing in the second half, the two teams traded baskets, including two 3-pointers by Beyer and six points from E-W’s Woods, before the Warriors started to take control.

“The game started playing with more flow in the third quarter, offensively,” Parker said. “… (E-W) is just so explosive.”

E-W received contributions from a number of players on both ends of the court.

Along with Woods’ impressive stat line, Butler had 10 points and seven rebounds, Sydney Donaldson worked hard in the paint for 10 points and six rebounds and senior Jennifer Singh had three rebounds and was active defensively.

“Butler played good defense, posted up and wanted the ball,” Edwards said.

Meadowdale’s Parker said that Woods gave the Mavericks the most trouble.

“(Woods) is just a hard guard,” Parker said. “She has NBA range and drives strong left … she stepped up big time.”

For Meadowdale, Beyer finished with a team-high 14 points, including 11 points in the third quarter. Julia Fjortoft added nine points for the Mavericks, who were missing key contributor Hanna Fjortoft.

“(Meadowdale) is an excellent team whether Hanna is playing or not,” Edwards said. “But it’s a shame she wasn’t playing tonight.”

The Warriors high-powered offense was able to finish off Meadowdale in the stretch run, but Edwards said his team’s defense dramatically changed the outcome.

“Our defense changed the tempo of the game,” Edwards said. “Defense has been one of our big advantages.”

With the win E-W made itself the team to catch in the Wesco South.

“We’re definitely really excited about it, but every team is going to be out to get us,” Butler said.

At Edmonds-Woodway HS

Meadowdale119169—45

E-W12121815—57

Meadowdale—Zickefoose 0, J. Fjortoft 9, Barhoun 4, Molitor 4, Beyer 14, M. O’Neill 0, Horn 5, Nugent 6, C. O’Neill 3. Edmonds-Woodway—Kasper 3, Butler 10, Kenney 2, Stafford 0, Singh 0, Nash 3, Albertson 6, Donaldson 10, Woods 23. 3-pointers—J. Fjortoft 1, Beyer 2, C. O’Neill 1, Kasper 1, Butler 2, Nash 1, Woods 1. Records—Meadowdale 8-2 league, 9-3 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 10-0, 11-1.