Domination: Warrior girls control rematch of title game

WASILLA — The defending state champion Wasilla Warriors showed they haven’t missed a beat since winning the title girls Class 4A state title last spring.

In a rematch of the championship game, Wasilla dominated the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears 51-16 Monday night to kick off play at the Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic.

Juniors Alysha Devine and Kyla Dinkel led the Warrior attack as Wasilla won the first game of its 2011-2012 season.

Both teams started off with full-court defensive pressure, pushing the pace for fast basketball. The Warriors used their advantage in speed and superior size to jump out to an early lead, 25-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Wasilla defense would continue to harass the Crimson Bears so much that Juneau-Douglas would not reach double digits until the third quarter.

Devine drew the defensive responsibility of the Crimson Bears point guard Marissa Brakes and led a Wasilla trap defense that forced 25 turnovers. The Warrior guards suffocated any Juneau attempt at ball movement. Senior guard Alyssa Hutchins and Devine kept constant pressure on the Juneau guards, stealing passes that resulted in a steady stream of easy fast-break layups.

“We definitely have a lot of speed,” head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said after the game.

Hutchins ended with a game-high 17 points. Kyla Dinkel added 14 and grabbed seven rebounds. Dinkel scored most of her points inside the key, whereas Hutchins scored almost exclusively off of fast-break layups.

The Warriors played against Juneau-Douglas in each of the last two ASAA state championship games.

“One thing I know about my group is that they’re very motivated to win. They want to defend the state title, they want to win regions,” Hebert-Truax said.

Both teams’ state title rosters were severely depleted by graduation last May, but Wasilla still retains a strong core of players with years of varsity experience as one of the best teams in the state.

“They’ve got a lot of experience, they’ve played varsity together for a couple years. We work real hard in practice, and it’s good to get on the court after three weeks of practice,” said Hebert-Truax.

Juneau-Douglas wing Esra Siddeek led the Crimson Bears with 10 points.

The Warriors will play Kentlake High, a team from Washington state today on the second day of the third annual Doc Larson’s tourney. Juneau-Douglas plays Lake Washington.

Wasilla 51,

Juneau-Douglas 16

Monday, Wasilla High

Juneau 4-3-4-5—16

Wasilla 2-14-12-0—51

Juenau (16) — Brakes 1 1-3 3, Balovich 1 0-2 2, Gross 0 1-2 1, Siddeek 3 4-4 10; Totals: 5 6-11 16.

Wasilla (51) — Hutchins 8 1-2 17, Imoe 2 0-0 4, Devine 1 6-6 8, Brumbaugh 3 0-0 6, Dinkel 7 0-0 14, Garcia 1 0-0 2; Totals: 22 7-8 51.

Three-point field goals: Juneau 0, Wasilla 0; Total fouls: Juneau 5, Wasilla 13.