California program captures Doc Larson girls’ crown

WASILLA — The four-team girls’ field of the 2017 Doc Larson Roundball Classic included three of the top squads Alaska has too offer.

East Anchorage finished fourth at the 4A level last season. Barrow is the defending 3A state champion. Host Wasilla is the reigning 4A state champ that graduated only two seniors from a squad that captured the title.

But there was a fourth team — the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers. And the Chatsworth, California, squad ran by everyone.

Sierra Canyon, a team ranked 21st in the nation by maxpreps.com, captured the Doc Larson title with a 66-37 victory over the host Warriors Friday evening at Wasilla High School.

“They’re athletic, quick, good one-on-one players,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said of the Trailblazers. “They have quite a bit of talent. They really come ready to play every night.”

Hebert-Truax said Sierra Canyon might be one of the best, if not the best, girls’ team that has appeared in the eight-year history of the Doc Larson tournament. Hebert-Truax said another key is Sierra Canyon plays with a shot clock in California. In Alaska high school basketball, there is no shot clock as you also see on the collegiate and professional levels.

“They played fast and they’re used to doing it,” Hebert-Truax said.

Sierra Canyon led by six points at the break, but outscored the Warriors 37-14 during the second half.

“We kept it close in the first half, but (in the second half) we couldn’t make baskets,” Hebert-Truax said. “We got the shots we wanted, but we couldn’t put them in the basket.”

The Trailblazers shot 50 percent from the floor and from behind the arc in the second half, as apposed to about 30 percent from the field in the first half. The Warriors were held to 30 percent shooting in the game.

Hebert-Truax said the Warriors continued to work toward opportunities in the game.

“Overall, I’m happy with what my kids did. I wish we kept it a little bit closer,” Hebert-Truax said.

Sierra Canyon’s Alexis Griggsby led all scorers with 19 points in the game. Ryann Payne added 10 for the Trailblazers, and Sophia Jacobson chipped in nine.

Cheyenne Green led Wasilla with nine points in the loss. McKenna Dinkel added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. Wasilla did outrebound Sierra Canyon 37-28.

Hebert-Truax said there are positive things to be taken from a loss to a program that captured three straight California Interscholastic Federation state titles from 2013-15.

“We got some good stuff out of it too,” Hebert-Truax said. “If you don’t play a team that challenges you, you don’t see the little things you can improve on, the little things they can focus on to make them better.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.