4A State Championship: Central Valley vs. Woodinville

The anticipation was high for the 4A State Championship between Central Valley and Woodinville and the game lived up to the hype. Central Valley entered into the matchup 22-3, while Woodinville came in at 28-0 and full of confidence. In 2018, these two programs matched up with a historical Central Valley team taking the 4A title by a score of 70-39. Gone are the Hull sisters (Stanford) and company that played on that Central Valley Bears team, but a new crop of talent has found themselves in a familiar position, being in a state title game. Woodinville was determined to get their payback for the 31 point beat down that some of the players experienced two years ago. Central Valley got out to a lead early and walked into halftime with a 32-24 edge. 2021 5’11 PF [player_tooltip player_id="82922" first="Mia" last="Hughes"] scored 16 of the team’s 24 points in the first half grabbing rebounds for put backs and scoring some in transition. She also hit a midrange pull-up on the break, but no one else was able to get it going. Central Valley played an outstanding team game with 2020 5’8 PG [player_tooltip player_id="85915" first="Peyton" last="Howard"] (Seattle U signee) leading the way with 11 first half points. 2021 5’10 SF [player_tooltip player_id="85877" first="MJ" last="Bruno"] (Portland commit) and 2021 5’10 G [player_tooltip player_id="144526" first="Chloe" last="Williams"] were both impressive in the first half scoring it, rebounding, collecting loose balls and defending at a high level. Central Valley maintained its lead right around the 8-10 range throughout most of the second half despite Woodinville giving multiple runs at it. It was not until under three minutes to go when Woodinville finally got the lead down to five. Once again, [player_tooltip player_id="82922" first="Mia" last="Hughes"] refused to let up as she scored on a couple more put backs, post ups and fast break baskets. The D1 recruit would go on to finish with 28 points on the night to go along with 9 rebounds. After several crucial plays down the stretch, Central Valley was up 3 at the line with 5 seconds to go and missed the free throw. As was the case throughout much of the game, Central Valley tracked down the most crucial offensive rebound of their 15 for the game. Central Valley would go on to take the win 59-55 and celebrate their third 4A title since 2016. <em>Takeaways:</em> <span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>1) Central Valley dominated the boards and loose balls</strong></span> Central Valley won the glass on both ends of the floor. Central Valley grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to Woodinville’s 9. Central Valley also had the edge +2 on the defensive boards. These rebounding stats also do not necessarily show the amount of 50/50 balls that Central Valley won time after time. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>2) Lack of bench scoring</strong></span> The biggest game of the year came down to the starters and stars! Central Valley’s bench scored 0 for the game. Woodinville got just 3 points from their’s. For Central Valley, 2021 5’10 G [player_tooltip player_id="144526" first="Chloe" last="Williams"] was the scoring star of the night and moved extremely well off the ball, finishing with 20 points. 2020 5’8 PG [player_tooltip player_id="85915" first="Peyton" last="Howard"] played like a senior leader pouring in 18 points, with 12 coming at the foul line. 2021 5’10 SF [player_tooltip player_id="85877" first="MJ" last="Bruno"] played great on both sides of the ball, ending with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while doing her best to hold Hughes off the boards. For Woodinville, [player_tooltip player_id="82922" first="Mia" last="Hughes"] did her best to keep the team in the game 28 points and 9 rebounds, but only one other player finished in double digits with 2022 5’11 SF Tatum Thompson chipping in 10 points before fouling out. 2022 5’8 PG [player_tooltip player_id="27947" first="Veronica" last="Sheffey"] was third in scoring at 8 points before also fouling out. <span style="text-decoration: underline"><strong>3) Woodinville will be back</strong></span> Fortunately for Woodinville, every player mentioned in this article, plus more, will be back next year to give it yet another go around to win the 4A title. They have the youthful talent and are well-coached, they just needed a little more boost in this one and being a year older next year may provide that.