Cronk finds her spot

March 29, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman sports editor

Throughout her high school career, Chandice Cronk had the potential to score from anywhere on the court, at anytime. Even as one of the top pure shooters to take the hardwood in the history of Alaska girls' prep basketball, it was hard to predict what her future would be as she jumped into the depths of Division I basketball.

Even though they stand at the top of their prep game, some players get lost in transition.

Not Cronk.

The Wasilla Warrior two-time Region III Player of the Year and 2004 state player of the year, is now a record-tying Santa Clara Bronco on the West Coast Conference All-Freshman squad.

Arriving at Santa Clara University, in Santa Clara, Calif., in a three-player recruiting class, Cronk was just another freshman vying for playing time.

"My senior year in high school I was the leader - I got to get things done," Cronk said. "I went in as a freshman totally reserved - that was a lot different."

The key for Cronk was to just find her game, find her confidence - take what worked for her on the courts of Alaska and apply that to the Division I courts of California.

"Confidence is a huge thing. You kind of have to rebuild your confidence," Cronk said. "No time to lose your confidence - things go so fast."

And confidence proves especially important for a player like Cronk, who always needs to be sure of her shot.

"You try to find your fit and a feel for the game," Cronk said. "It's different going in. In high school you're the leading scorer, but here everyone else is doing that kind of thing."

Once the nerves began to settle and the shots began to fall, Cronk realized she had earned a spot at the next level.

It didn't even take 10 games for Cronk to find herself in the starting lineup. Santa Clara head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said she wasn't sure whether Cronk would emerge from a deep Bronco backcourt and crack the starting lineup. She knew Cronk had the ability to shoot the ball, but it was her work and improvement in the other pieces of her game that ultimately allowed Cronk to crack the starting lineup.

The 2004 Wasilla graduate started the final 27 games for the Broncos, and as the season evolved she began to factor more heavily into the Santa Clara offense.

In the opening round of the West Coast Conference championship tournament, Cronk led her squad to a 90-49 win over San Francisco with a game-high 22 points. Cronk tied a trio of WCC tourney records, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the field including all four of her attempts from three-point land and going 4-of-4 at the free-throw line.

"I always know she's capable of putting together those types of numbers," Bento-Jackson said. "Whenever she has a speck of an open shot, I tell her to shoot the ball. She definitely has the ability to do that, and I expect that of her."

Cronk's performance in the first round helped spark the Broncos' roll through the WCC tourney. Santa Clara earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament with a win over Gonzaga in the WCC championship game and a first-round date with Stanford on ESPN2.

"It's amazing," Cronk said. "We weren't even in the gym, and the atmosphere was so much

different.

"I can't even explain it. It's something you dream about as a kid - you want to be on TV."

ESPN- Mat-Valley

Cronk is just one of a handful of former Valley athletes who have been seen on ESPN during the 2004-05 college basketball season.

Fellow Wasilla alum Brittany Kroon made her ESPN2 debut in the Division II women's national championship game on Saturday. Kroon scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in a 70-53 loss to Washburn in the title

game.

Former Colony star Jessica Moore saw her career at the University of Connecticut come to an end on Sunday on "the deuce." Stanford eliminated the Huskies in the Sweet 16 round of the tourney.

Former Palmer standout C.J. Hooker is a senior on a North Carolina squad that has advanced to the NCAA Final Four in the men's bracket. North Carolina takes on Michigan State Saturday. The game is scheduled to be televised on CBS at 4:05 AST.

Wasilla graduate Ray Schafer, a member of the Oregon Ducks, was seen this season on ESPN, CBS and Fox Sports.