PORT ANGELES — Many Port Angeles Roughriders move on to play college sports. And many play at four-year schools. But most take the middle step of starting their college careers at a community college, especially this year with COVID-19 limiting roster spots for high school seniors at four-year schools.
Port Angeles’ Jaida Wood is both talented enough and fortunate enough to go straight to a four-year program out of high school. Surrounded by friends, family and teammates Wednesday, Wood signed a letter of intent to play basketball next year for the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes.
Pacific Lutheran is an NCAA Division III program that plays in the Northwest Conference with schools such as University of Puget Sounds, Whitworth, Whitman and Linfeld and George Fox in Oregon.
Port Angeles Athletic Director Dwayne Johnson said Wood has been involved in basketball since her fourth-grade Olympic Avalanche team. She has been a dedicated student-athlete that entire time, which ultimately led to her being recruited and signed by PLU.
“We blinked, and now she’s all growed up,” Johnson said.
“Pride is an understatement for how I feel,” Wood’s father, Josh Wood, said.
Port Angeles coach Michael Poindexter said Wood has really improved this year for the undefeated Riders, becoming a better offensive player and improving even more as an outside shooter.
“She’s grown her game and embraced changing her game,” Poindexter said. “She increased the diversity of her offense. I appreciate how hard she has worked to grow her game.”
Wood’s brother, Joel, is also playing college sports at Lower Columbia College, part of an active pipeline of baseball and softball players from Port Angeles going to LCC.
Wood said she was nervous at first about going to PLU. The women’s head basketball coach GC Hilburn, told her a while ago that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and added year of eligibility, he had six slots open, and he wanted Wood to join the program.
After her initial trepidation, Wood said after meeting her teammates that PLU was where she wanted to be.
“I fell in love with the program,” Wood said. “It was all just meant to be.”
Wood said that despite the lack of a state tournament this year, a tournament that it appears the Roughriders would do well in with their 5-0 record, she and her teammates haven’t had trouble staying motivated. They’re all very motivated to become as good of basketball players as they can as they prepare for college in the fall.
“In practice, I get to go up against some of the best players in the state in Millie [Long] and Eve [Burke].
“They’re pushing me every day,” she said.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
