2A Prep Girls Basketball: Woodland busts Mark Morris' press in league-opener (UPDATED)

Foul Play: Beavers feast at charity stripe to push past Monarchs

The Woodland Mark Morris girls basketball teams warm up prior to a 2A GSHL contest at The Beaver Den, Monday, Dec. 9, in Woodland — Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a video highlight reel by the author of this story.

Drew Lawson for Blast Zone Media

WOODLAND—For the first three quarters of Monday night’s 2A Greater St. Helens League between the hometown Beavers and Mark Morris, the Beavers offense consisted of either a 3-point attempt from Addi Stading, a tough finish inside from Kennedy Bockert or an aggressive attack from the wings resulting in free throws.

There were 25 free throws in the first half, if scorebook tallies are correct. And that was more than enough for Woodland (3-1) to build a comfortable lead against the Monarchs (0-2) on the way to a 58-46 win over a top tier league rival.

The first quarter set the tone, as the Beavers scored 8 of their 15 points from the stripe. And more specifically, Stading set the tone with nine of those points.

“We have two six-footers, and (the Monarchs) don’t,” Woodland head coach Glen Flanagan noted. “We try to go inside to Kennedy, and they were doing a good job of sponging in on her, but when you do that, if it’s called right, then you get fouls. And they did.”

With Bockert commanding attention and adjustments inside, Stading got hot from the perimeter. She hit consecutive triples to push Woodland’s lead to 21-11, and finished the first half with 16 points. Meanwhile, Bockert put together a “quiet” 11-point, 5-rebound effort before the break.

“I think we just came out strong, breathed with the ball and (kept) our composure,” Stading said.

The Beavers were in control at the half, leading 32-19.

By that time, it had become rather painfully obvious to the Mark Morris faithful that this was the team’s first game of the season with a fully “healthy” roster. But why that description wound up in quotation marks will be explained soon enough.

That’s because the next couple paragraphs belong to Woodland’s offense.