Jan. 12, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - The Wasilla Warriors girls' basketball squad has been known to run teams off the court. But the up-tempo offense didn't work against everybody, so head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax has urged her squad to take a different approach - a more patient approach.

The result - a 57-44 win over perennial power Juneau-Douglas at Wasilla High School on Wednesday.

Hebert-Truax said Wasilla's run-happy philosophy has worked well against some teams in the past, but she felt it has hurt her squad in the long run.

Wasilla's patience was evident during crucial sections of the nonconference win over the Crimson Bears.

With steady and patient play, the Warriors erased an early deficit with an 11-0 run in the first quarter. In the third, Wasilla took control of the contest with a 20-8 run.

Senior Hillarie Putnam posted a team-high 15 points for the Warriors, while senior post Jessica Carter added 14.

Putnam sparked Wasilla's early run, scoring six of her team's 11 first-quarter points.

A Putnam layup midway through the first frame put Wasilla on the board for the first time. With three minutes left in the quarter, junior Shelby Fulton hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give Wasilla its first lead of the game, a 7-5 advantage.

Fulton hit only two treys in the game, but both came in key points of the game. Her second three-pointer sparked an 11-2 run late in the third quarter.

That run was capped by a Jenna Johnson three-pointer.

Hebert-Truax said gaining the confidence to hit those three-pointers is key for her squad. The Warrior head coach has been urging her shooters to step up and fire the ball.

“They have been used to other people shooting the ball,” she said.

While, Wasilla's guards were able to hit some shots from the outside, Carter provided the inside presence. The senior scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half.

Hebert-Truax calls the play of Carter, “an added bonus.”

Carter missed most of last season due to injury.

While the Warriors showed a different look at the offensive side of the court, Wasilla supplied its typically tenacious defense.

The Warriors consistently pressured the Bears at the perimeter. “We tried to limit Juneau to one shot each possession,” Hebert-Truax said. “We were doing a pretty good job of that.”

Juneau senior Talisa Rhea led the Bears with a game-high 20 points, but the Warriors made the defending large-schools player of the year work to get it.

Rhea was the lone Bear to hit double digits in scoring.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.