YAKIMA — It was more of a statement than a question, but the emphatically affirmative answer that followed offered insight into the mentality of both player and coach.
Port Angeles girls basketball coach Michael Poindexter paused a reporter’s postgame interview to offer a short bit of praise to sophomore Jaida Wood as she headed out of the locker room after the Roughriders did plenty of damage in a 71-26 district win over Franklin Pierce on Feb. 14.
Nothing out of the norm, there. Poindexter routinely engages his players as they leave for the night. What was different was what Poindexter added after the compliment.
“Nets on Saturday, Jaida,” Poindexter said.
“You know it. Nets,” Wood enthusiastically replied.
The pair were envisioning what quickly became reality for Port Angeles, cutting down a basket’s net after winning the West Central District Championship, the first district title for the Roughriders since 2011. Wood led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds.
“She played loose but really disciplined. She didn’t let anything rattle her and didn’t let words of correction bother her. She was pretty mature for us. She really understood what that game meant, everybody wants to win, but I think she internally carried us.
“Her shooting was great, 21 points is excellent, but she had so much disciplined aggression.
“That was her best game as a Roughrider.”
The “Nets” comment was out of the ordinary for Poindexter.
“I did allow myself to say that to her,” Poindexter said.
“Jaida is the one player that I have those types of conversations with the most. [As a program] we don’t talk about those kind of bigger goals because we are trying to play each game and if you lose sight you are lost. She and I are connected that way, I rarely talk about that kind of thing. We are always going to be aware that we aren’t perfect. I think that makes us more reality based and tougher in the long run, but I did allow myself to say that to her.”
Wood agrees with her head coach’s take on staying in the moment from game to game, opponent to opponent. But…the future looms large.
“I agree, we need to focus on the next game,” Wood said. “But the future is also very important, too, and what we want to work for. So I think of that Franklin Pierce game as a motivator. Get that game, get past the semifinals, win there and cut down that net. Yes, eyes on the prize.”
And Wood’s had her eyes on the biggest prize of all — the round, golden ball awarded to the Class 2A state champions each season — since she was in sixth grade.
“We’ve had a lot of district wins, a lot of great teams, but we haven’t placed at state since [looks around the Port Angeles gym at athletic banners on the walls] the 1980s?” Wood asked.
The answer is a little more recent than that [fifth place in Class 4A in 2001], but Wood can be forgiven — she was two years from being born when those Riders shook off a two-point opening round loss to win three straight and take fifth.
“I want to be that first Port Angeles girls team to win state,” Wood said. “I’ve thought about that since I was in sixth grade, I want to win a state championship. Here I am now at 16, and I still want to do that.”
Her words are earnest, without a hint of arrogance.
That earnest nature is constantly on display when Wood is on the floor for the Riders.
“I do try to stay positive. I try to keep everyone happy,” Wood said.
Poindexter agrees that she bring positive energy to the team.
“One of the things that stood out about Jaida to us at beginning of the season is her defensive talk on the floor really set a nice tone from the start. She communicates well on defense and raises everybody’s energy level.”
Wood said much of her chatter comes when the Riders play in a 2-3 zone defense.
“I play the back middle [near the hoop], so I see the whole floor, I see everything that’s happening and there’s always a lot of cutters against that zone,” Wood said. “So I’ll yell out, ‘Cutter, cutter coming through’ and that helps [teammates] know I am there, so that if they do get beat I can help. We hope that it doesn’t happen but it’s basketball, so I’m yelling ‘I got help, or you got that, you got that.”
Poindexter said Wood isn’t afraid to take a hit while going after rebounds or loose balls.
“Another way she is positive is her effort on the boards [rebounding] and with loose balls,” Poindexter said. “Jaida is willing to throw her body in to all sorts of uncomfortable positions to get the ball.”
Wood said that type of play has been ingrained by years of coaching … and an older brother (Riders baseball catcher Joel Wood).
“Growing up playing basketball, my coaches now and previously would say ‘Get on the ground, get on the ground,’ no matter what because it’s a 50/50 chance and we want every chance we can get the ball.
As for taking knocks during games? It’s old hat for Wood.
“Oh, no, I have an older brother,” Wood said. “I know how to take a hit.
“My back is normally the spot that takes the most hits, so I ice down after practice and after games and wake up sore the next morning.”
And Wood’s 3-point shot has been money much of the time for Port Angeles this season.
“I didn’t think of myself as a shooter, honestly, until the end of last season,” Wood said. “I was always like, ‘Oh, I’m never going to shoot the 3. But coach said if I want my shot to go in, I have to be more confident in it. And that’s very true, if you don’t believe its going to go in, it will never go in.”
The 3-pointer is such a weapon in today’s game that Poindexter is glad to have a player with such commitment to her shot.
“Her belief in her 3-point shot is a positive, her confidence in the shot and her skill at it is a good model for our other players. She believes in herself out there and hopefully that encourages others to improve.
“Other coaches will comment on how much depth of shooting we have. It’s an important part of the game to have as many people as possible to defend.”
And her teammates appreciate her.
“Oh, she is wonderful. I love Jaida,” junior guard Mikkiah Brady said. “She is always on. She always has a key 3 or shot at a clutch moment and that sparks energy within the team. She has a great positive attitude that rubs off on the rest of us. If somebody is not having a good night, she picks them up.”
And Wood is working toward a better finish to this season than as a freshmen, when the Riders looked a little intimidated at state and were bounced by a bigger, faster and more experienced East Valley [Yakima].
“I care so much about the game of basketball and everyone here [at practice],” Wood said. “I get so upset when we lose because I put so much heart into this game, I just want to see everyone succeed and play well together.”
