Albert Lea girls’ basketball player Bryn Woodside will have one less thing to worry about during her senior season — where she’s going to college next year.

Woodside signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for Jamestown College in North Dakota next year. She said she made the decision to attend Jamestown about one month ago.

“It’s really relieving,” Woodside said. “There’s a lot of pressure taken off my chest, and I can just go out there and play basketball with no thoughts, because I know where I’m going.”

Other schools in the running for the senior guard were the University of St. Thomas, St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Woodside has been on Albert Lea’s varsity since she was in eighth grade. For head coach Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa, watching Woodside sign was bittersweet, because while she was happy that she picked a college, losing a guard who has been such a big part of the team will be tough.

“It’s sad to think about that she’s going to be gone next year,” Hugstad-Vaa said. “But I’m so excited for her senior year. I think she’ll make a huge impact in the conference. She’s just a once in a lifetime kid that you get to coach.”

The decision to go to Jamestown had a lot to do with the coaching staff there, along with academics. Woodside plans to major in nursing.

“I liked the coaching staff a lot. When I was there I could tell that he was a caring coach, and you could tell he wants the best for his players. That was something that was important to me,” Woodside said of Jamestown head coach Greg Ulland.

She was also able to get acquainted with some members of the team on her visit.

“I also got a chance to stay with the girls. I stayed in the dorm with two of them, and one of the girls I just clicked with really well. I talk to her on a weekly basis.”

Jamestown will graduate one senior guard after this season, which could pave the way to some early playing time for Woodside. However, she’s not assuming anything.

“That doesn’t guarantee me anything,” Woodside said. “I’m still going to have to work really hard. They’ve had good seasons in the past, so hopefully I can help them continue that.”

Bryn is the second sibling in the Woodside family to play college basketball. Her brother Ben was a 2004 graduate of Albert Lea High School and played at North Dakota State University.