State hoops: Wasilla girls score win over South

March 23, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

ANCHORAGE - It's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Wasilla came out sluggish in its opening-round match-up against South Anchorage Thursday evening at Service High School, then showed why its the state's top-ranked girls team with a dominant second-half performance to put the Wolverines away.

&#8220That's our game, defense,” Wasilla senior Ayla Brown said following the game.

Keyed by an 8-0 run to start the second half, the Warriors cruised to a 49-32 win over South to move into today's semifinal game against Soldotna.

Jenna Johnson led Wasilla with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Anne Wesser and Hillarie Putnam each scored eight.

Wesser also had 11 rebounds on the night and Putnam had five assists.

Brown was named Player of the Game after nabbing seven steals, including six in the first half.

Wasilla had trouble getting its offense going early, missing a number of easy shots and finding no success from outside. The Warriors had plenty of opportunities against the South zone, but just couldn't manage to find the basket early on, shooting just 34 percent in the first half.

Those early woes - combined with three Wolverine three-pointers - allowed South to take a 13-11 lead into the second quarter.

Early in the second things continued to go sour for the top-seeded Warriors, as they missed their first five shots from the field to open the quarter.

Wasilla didn't let its shooting woes carry over to the defensive side of things, and the Warriors' full-court press began to pay dividends as the second half wore on. Wasilla forced 14 South turnovers through the first 16 minutes.

&#8220I think they definitely were the aggressors,” South coach Ryan Hales said following the game.

Wasilla outscored South 13-8 in the second quarter, and didn't allow a field goal until a Kelly Gamblin lay-up in the closing seconds to cut the lead to 24-21 going into the second half.

Gamblin led South with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Liza Spano hit three three-pointers to finish with 12 as well.

Wasilla stormed out of the locker room in the second half, using more tough defense to frustrate and eventually finish the Wolverines.

&#8220They just had to settle down,” Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

Wesser got things going with a lay-up to start the half, and Shelby Fulton finished things with a three at the buzzer. In between the Warriors were dominant, holding South without a basket until the 3:35 mark in the quarter.

A stunned and demoralized South team had nothing left after that, allowing Wasilla to finish out the game without much challenge down the stretch. South scored just 11 points in the second, and were held to only 20 percent shooting from the field.

Hebert-Truax said the defensive pressure applied by her entire team was something Wasilla was able to use to great advantage.

&#8220I feel comfortable putting any of those eight or nine players in the game and they can all apply pressure,” she said.

The Warriors are now two wins away from a state championship, something Ayla Brown said is within Wasilla's reach - if they continue to do what's gotten them this far.

&#8220We've just got to play our game like we know we can,” she said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com