The Paly girls’ basketball team beat Woodside High School, 47-41, Thursday night, qualifying for the second round of the Central Coast Section playoffs. The girls are seeded number five, and Woodside was seeded number twelve.

Both teams seemed equal in ability early on, but Paly gained momentum in the second quarter. The third quarter, however, was a complete turn around as Woodside seized the lead. The fourth quarter was intense, as the Vikes battled back to win the game.

Both teams had trouble putting points on the board early on. Paly was down 6-7, and in the last twenty seconds of the first quarter, sophomore guard Bre Clay gained possession and scored two points. However, Woodside quickly responded and the quarter ended with a close score of 8-9.

The Vikes completely dominated in the second half as Paly played tough defense and Woodside struggled to put the ball in the basket. Paly gained 19 points in the quarter alone, and Woodside only gained 5, most of which were from free throws.

Senior small forward Sara Schulte led Paly for the first half, scoring 11 points. Senior guard Jossy Tseng also contributed 8 points.

During the third quarter, Woodside made a remarkable comeback. With 3:30 to go in the quarter, Paly had yet to put any points on the board, and Woodside had put up 11. Paly quickly started to play defense, and the quarter ended 38-35, Woodside.

"We just lost complete control in the beginning of the third quarter," Tseng said. "Luckily, we were able to quickly bounce back and recover, but it put us in a very precarious situation."

The fourth quarter was intense, as each team struggled to pull ahead. With only four minutes left, the score was tied, 40-40. Woodside made a free-throw, but Clay responded with two points. The scored stood at 42-41 with 1:00 remaining. However, Woodside became desperate, and Paly sophomores Meghan Grant, Amber Jones, and Clay were all given free throws. Capitalizing on their opportunities, the underclassmen clinched the win for Paly, 47-41.