Division I basketball conference to honor Wasilla girls basketball coach

March 2, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA -There will be a noticeable absence on the Wasilla bench when the Warriors face Palmer and Colony this weekend.

Head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax won't be on the sidelines when her squad meets the Moose today and the Knights on Saturday, because the former NCAA women's basketball star is slated to be honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Hebert-Truax, a former University of Miami (Fla.) standout, was thrilled when she learned in October she would be included in the third-annual ACC Women's Basketball Legends class. But immediately, her thought was, &#8220when is it?”

Turns out, the festivities surrounding the ceremony were set for March 1-4, a stretch that parallels with the final weekend of the prep basketball season.

Before Hebert-Truax made any certain travel plans she spoke with her team, a squad that is looking for Wasilla's 84th consecutive conference victory when it faces Palmer tonight at 5:45 at Wasilla High School.

&#8220It was great. They were so excited,” Hebert-Truax said. &#8220They all said, ‘coach you've gotta do it'.”

Hebert-Truax said this honor ranks, &#8220pretty high,” in a remarkable basketball career.

After starring at both North Pole High School and Monroe Catholic at the prep level, Hebert-Truax established herself as one of the top players in the history of the Miami (Fla.) women's basketball program.

Hebert-Truax said Miami was the only Division I program to offer her a college scholarship. She had also considered playing at UAA, but wanted to at least try Division I before falling back on Division II.

Turns out, thinks worked out pretty well in south Florida.

As a point guard, Hebert-Truax led the Hurricanes to their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1989 and Women's National Invitational Tournament in 1990. She set the single-season assists record at Miami, with 221 during her senior season, and led the Big East Conference in that category that season.

She ranks second in career assists (694) and starts (119) and fourth in scoring (1,766) in the Miami record books.

Hebert-Truax said her most cherished moments in basketball include her induction into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, and her two high school state championships.

She led Monroe to state titles during her junior and senior years.

As a freshman and sophomore, Hebert-Truax helped North Pole earn second in state.

During her junior year of high school, she said, Miami happened to be playing in the Northern Lights Tournament - the event hosted by UAA that preceded the Great Alaska Shootout - in Anchorage at the same time as the Alaska state tournament. The Miami coaching staff saw Hebert-Truax in the state tourney, and a relationship was born.

Hebert-Truax' success as a player followed her into coaching. In her 12 seasons at WHS, she's earned Northern Lights Conference coach of the year honors three times and was named the state's top coach in 2001.

With Hebert-Truax at the helm, Wasilla has won the last five NLC titles, and is riding an 84-game winning streak in region play.

This weekend Hebert-Truax will be recognized at the ACC Legends Luncheon and during halftime of the semifinal games of the ACC tournament on Saturday.

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