Thursday
March 31, 2022
SPORTS: Youth, High School, College, Recreational, Professional
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Woodson, Samson make All-State By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor
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fter a successful season that ended in the VISAA State Tournament semifinals, the Saint Gertrude Gators basketball team is seeing its top players honored for the tremendous work they put in over the course of the season. Star players Erin Woodson and Kate Samson were both listed on the VISAA Division I All-State Team, with Woodson listed on the first team and Samson listed on the second. Other teams to have multiple players make the teams include the VISAA state champion St. Paul VI Panthers, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, Bishop Ireton and Catholic High School. Woodson, a 6-foot junior who is committed to playing at Purdue Fort-Wayne, was one of eight players listed on the first team. Woodson had a productive season as one of the team’s most reliable scorers, averag-
ing a team-high 21.6 points per game on 45% efficiency from the field. She also averaged 3.4 assists and 7.7 rebounds, both second highest on the team. Woodson was also a marquee defensive player on the perimeter, accumulating an impressive 3.7 steals per game, the highest on the team, and 1.4 blocks per game. During the team’s playoff run, Woodson led the way with averages of 20.5 points, 46% 3-point efficiency, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3 steals in two games. Samson, meanwhile, wrapped up her Gators career with a terrific senior season at center. Samson was second on the team behind Woodson in points with 12.8 points per game, but led the way in field goal percentage at 47%, rebounds at 8.2 per game and blocks with three per game. At 6-foot-4-inches, Samson was a terrific rim-running big that dominated the paint on both ends of the floor. One of Samson’s most
notable performances in her senior year came against Steward on Jan. 29 when Samson killed the Spartans on the glass with a whopping 20 rebounds to go with 23 points. She finished that game shooting seven-of-17 from the field and nine-of-12 from the free throw line. One of her other impressive double-doubles came on Jan. 5 against Shining Star Sports Academy when she put up 11 points and 11 rebounds. While her Gators career has come to an end, her basketball career still has a long way to go, as Samson verbally committed to playing at the United States Naval Academy. Though the team ultimately fell short of its goals of winning the state championship for a second year in a row, seeing two players earn well-deserved praise for their hard work is a welcome sight for a Gators team that’ll look to build off this season next winter. Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.
File Photo above, photo on the right by Robby Fletcher
Above, Saint Gertrude’s Kate Samson (44) blocks the shot of Collegiate’s Amani KimballMcKavish during the Gators’ victory Friday. Erin Woodson (4) helps defend. Right, Woodson crosses over to her right hand in a VISAA State Tournament matchup against Catholic on March 2. Woodson scored 29 points in the 60-54 win.
Cadets roundup: tennis, lacrosse share big weeks By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor
It was a busy week in sports for the Benedictine Cadets, who saw their baseball, lacrosse and tennis teams all come away with impressive victories as they approach the end of March. The baseball team moved to 4-2 on the season after winning both games of a Saturday doubleheader against St. Paul
VI and Episcopal. Against St. Paul VI, Benedictine scored six runs in the first two innings to cruise to an 8-2 win. Then against Episcopal, they were just as dominant, knocking off their opponent in a 12-2 win. Their next game comes against Woodberry Forest on April 1. On the lacrosse field, the Cadets snapped a four-game losing streak with their first
win of the season against Fork Union Military Academy in a 15-6 win at home that pushed them in the right direction. They now move to 1-4-1 on the season with a matchup against Trinity at Meadow View on April 2. The tennis team won two matchups this week, first beating Veritas 5-4 and then taking down Seton, 7-2. Against Veritas, the team
was locked into a 3-3 tie after the singles events, but the Cadets took control through strong play in doubles to pull away with the victory. Also, the golf team opened up its season with a hard-fought loss against Trinity, 177-148. Though they weren’t able to secure the win, the team has already demonstrated signifiContributed Photo cant improvement compared to Benedictine’s lacrosse team leaves the field after taking down Fork Union 15-11 on March 24. last season.
