Wasilla girls edge Chugiak; boys cruise past Mustangs

Feb. 23, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Shelby Fulton and Jessica Carter normally are not recognized as the two top scorers to stop in the Wasilla lineup.

But that doesn't mean they don't come up with big points on the offensive end.

Both Fulton and Carter posted key buckets Wednesday to help the Wasilla Warriors edge Chugiak 53-49 in a battle of a pair of top-five teams at Wasilla High School.

Fulton scored five of her eight points during a key stretch in the second quarter, and Carter recorded a game-high 16.

“It's nice to see them step up,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said. “It makes us more versatile.”

Late in the second quarter, as Chugiak was chipping away at a Warrior lead, Fulton hit a big three-pointer to put Wasilla up by four. On the next possession, Fulton found a lane and drove to the basket for a score.

Carter scored seven of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, and helped squash an attempt by the fourth-ranked Mustangs to upset the second-ranked Warriors on Wasilla's home court.

Chugiak took a temporary lead midway through the fourth quarter, with a Sarah Waltzke three-pointer. But Carter was able to bring the lead back to Wasilla.

On consecutive possessions, Carter - Wasilla's 5-foot-7 power in the post - hit easy lay-ups, and gave the Warriors a 43-42 lead.

Senior Hillarie Putnam found Carter open underneath on both plays.

Hebert-Truax said Wasilla tweaked its offense in the second half of the win, mainly to try to find more open looks under the basket.

Wasilla has its deadly shooters from the outside, Fulton and Ayla Brown, and its versatile scorers who can hit shots from anywhere - Putnam, Jena Johnson and Anne Wesser. But Hebert-Truax knows a key for Wasilla down the stretch will be its ability to score inside.

Much of that responsibility lies on the shoulders of Carter.

“She knows she can do it,” Hebert-Truax said of her senior post. “It's nice to see her step up and make some baskets.”

During a three-game trip to Fairbanks last week, Carter posted double digits in scoring twice. She scored 15 in a 54-49 win over Lathrop and 18 in a 56-37 win over North Pole.

Hebert-Truax said there are a couple reasons why Carter is having more success recently.

“The kids are looking for her, and she's been more active,” Hebert-Truax said.

In addition to Carter's play inside, Wasilla also had success at the free-throw line down the stretch. The Warriors were 8-of-12 from the line in the final eight minutes.

Chugiak was 0-for-4.

Wasilla boys 66,

Chugiak 52

Jesse Bean and Dexter Pearce each scored 14 points as Wasilla cruised to a 66-52 nonconference win over Chugiak at Wasilla High School on Saturday.

The Warriors used a 19-8 run in the second quarter to move past the Mustangs, and improve to 17-3 overall this season.

Wasilla didn't allow Chugiak to score for nearly the first five minutes of the second quarter.

Chugiak turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions, and Wasilla used a 10-0 run to erase a Mustang

lead.

Senior Jeremiah Collins started the run by hitting one of his two three-pointers in the contest. Pearce and Logan Williams followed with easy buckets.

Pearce, Wasilla's dynamic shooting guard, thrilled the crowd with some highlight reel caliber plays.

Late in the second quarter, Pearce swiped the ball from Chugiak senior Brian Niedermeyer at midcourt, and finished the play with a rim-rocking dunk.

Merely seconds later, Peare once again lifted the ball at midcourt, and took the ball to the basket. But as he went up for the dunk, Chugiak's Josh Ward brought Pearce to the ground.

On the fourth quarter, Pearce nabbed steals on consecutive plays, and took the ball to the hole. On the second play, Chugiak's Shane Ghramm took Pearce to the floor.

Houston upsets Heritage

The Houston Hawks scored a 36-29 upset win over region rival Heritage in Anchorage on Tuesday.

Despite scoring only two points in the first eight minutes, of play, Houston came back to score 13 points in both the second and third quarters.

Senior Donovan Parker led the Hawks with 10 points, while fellow senior Ryan Thamm added nine.

Steve Hanks led Heritage with 12.

Heritage is currently ranked fifth in the 3A Alaska Sportswriters Prep Basketball Poll.

Warriors second in polls

Both the Wasilla boys and girls are ranked second in the latest 4A Alaska Sportswriters Prep Basketball Polls.

Each squad received three first-place votes and 35 total points.