Records fall again for Woods

Versatility and determination are the main reasons Jessica Wood, a 5-foot-9 junior forward for the Ursuline College women’s basketball team from Champion High, recently broke her fourth school record.

After already breaking the school career rebounding record (724) earlier this season and also the school single-season scoring (432 points) and rebounding (298) marks last season, Wood entered the John Carroll game two weeks ago with 1,083 points and needing 18 to break the career record of 1,100 held by Lisa Piechhowski.

Wood responded with better than 18 points — she scored 21 — to set the school record with 1,104 points, helping the Arrows to an 89-79 victory over the Blue Streaks.

Her 432 points last year broke her previous record of 388 set as a freshman at the primarily women’s college (only 7 percent of Ursuline’s students are men), which is located in Pepper Pike and competes in the American Mideast Conference Division II.

Versatility is her
greatest asset

“[Wood’s] versatility is by far her greatest asset,” said fourth-year coach Nelson Schorr last week. “She can shoot from the outside and score on the inside, and she can take it from one end to the other to either lay it in or pass it off to another shooter. She is a very unselfish player. We play her at the power forward spot so she can take advantage of her athletic ability, because that is the spot she can do the most things. She is most effective at the spot in our up-tempo style.”

Wood, who now has 1,105 points entering tonight’s game tonight at Roberts Wesleyan, has been an overall standout for the Arrows (10-22, 3-5 AMC Div. II). She leads the team in blocks (12), is second in rebounding (8.3), assists (46) and steals (36) and is third in scoring (13.0).

Wood was joined in Ursuline’s career 1,000-point circle in the John Carroll game by junior shooting guard Whitney Blackburn, who scored 14 points to give her 1,008. Wood, who leads the team in scoring (15.3), now has 1,028 points.

Senior guard Diona Graham leads the team in rebounding (8.6), assists (92) and steals and is second in scoring (13.7).

Wood, a three-year starter at Champion High under coach Jeffrey Thompson before becoming a three-year starter for Ursuline, credits a lot of her scoring to the team’s emphasis on a running attack.

“I probably have been attacking the basket a lot more. My coach tells us to run to the post as hard as we can every play,” said Wood, who credits her teammates for “getting me the ball when I have been open.”

She also likes to run the floor.

“I like the running attack a lot better than the normal slow-paced basketball. It seems to work a lot better for our team.”

Schorr said he wants his players to run and gun.

“The last eight games, we are averaging 84.75 points, and that comes from running the court. We push the ball at every opportunity, and we love to shoot the 3s,” said the coach.

Wood also knows how to rebound to touch off the fast break despite not being very tall and not a high jumper.

Good rebounder
at only 5-foot-9

“She is only 5-9 but uses her body to get position. She wills herself to get wherever she goes,” said Schorr. “She is an unbelievable rebounder. Her heart and will to win are probably the most important things.”

Wood said she is able to get position because, “I think my strength and just knowledge of where the ball is going to be [helps me get position]. That is helped by experience and instinct. I don’t think I have a very high vertical jump. Getting position would be equivalent to a good 15 inches.”

The daughter of Barbara and Jeffrey Wood and a graphic design major with a 3.6 grade-point average, Jessica said that an early start playing basketball as a child in the fourth grade helped her to be ready for high school and college competition .

Also with the Arrows are Vannessa Dickson, a 5-8 sophomore guard from Ursuline High who currently is injured, and Elizabeth Hughes, a 5-8 freshman forward from Jackson-Milton

XJohn Kovach covers colleges for The Vindicator. Write him at kovach@vindy.com.