Kent sisters represent Woodburn in Oregon West awards
The backcourt duo of Aria and Taiya Kent terrorized opposing teams in the Oregon West Conference up and down the court over the course of the 2019-20 basketball season, so it's no surprise that the Woodburn sisters each earned a place on the girls all-conference team following the conclusion of the regular season.
In her second year in the starting lineup, sophomore guard Aria Kent led the Bulldog offense that was the third-best in the Oregon West, helping Woodburn finish fourth overall in the league standings with a 5-7 record — the program's best finish in a generation.
Aria was named to the All-Conference Second Team, averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game in 12 contests against the Oregon West. She also led the Bulldogs in assists (4.6/game) and steals (2.4/game), while averaging 2.3 rebounds, 0.5 blocks and connecting on 19 3-pointers in league play.
Aria's highest scoring game came in the Bulldogs' league opener against Sweet Home, where she connected on five 3-pointers and tallied 23 points to lead Woodburn to a 49-36 win over the Huskies. Her top league game came in a 60-57 loss to Newport on Jan. 24, where she tallied 18 points, 8 assists, 8 steals, 4 rebounds, a block and a 3-pointer.
While the sophomore could pour in the points, she also was a strong distributor down the stretch, recording seven or more assists in three of the team's final five league games.
Not far behind in the stat sheet was her older sister, Taiya, a senior guard who returned to the Bulldog starting lineup following a nearly two-year absence.
Taiya was selected as an honorable mention, averaging 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.4 blocks in 11 league games this season. Taiya twice matched Aria with 23-point games, pulling off the feat against Cascade on Jan. 28 and a week later against Sweet Home on Feb. 4. Despite being one of the smallest players on the court at any given time, Taiya led the Bulldogs in rebounds, pulling down 10 or more boards on four occassions, including a season-high 15 rebounds against Newport on Feb. 18. The senior tallied three double-doubles in the season.
Oregon West Conference Girls Basketball 2019-20 All-Conference Awards
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sage Kramer, 10, Philomath
COACH OF THE YEAR
Ben Silva, Philomath
FIRST TEAM
Sage Kramer, 10, Philomath
Emma Pankalla, 12, Philomath
Mia Rust, 11, Philomath
Karlee Tyler, 10, Stayton
K.J. Nyquist, 12, Stayton
Kenna Coleman, 10, Cascade
SECOND TEAM
Aria Kent, 10, Woodburn
Camryn Boyles, 12, Cascade
Abbigail Cordero, 12, Cascade
Stella Barber, 10, Newport
Payden Petterson, 10, Sisters
HONORABLE MENTION
Taiya Kent, 12, Woodburn
Adaira Burger, 10, Sweet Home
Brooke Burke, 9, Sweet Home
Becky Belcher, 11, Sweet Home
Avonly Wolf, 9, Newport
Ariel Tobiasson, 10, Cascade
Miley Mitchell, 10, Stayton
Braedyn McNeely, 11, Philomath
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