Teamwork propels Warriors to top; Wasilla girls earn state-record 6th 4A girls title

ANCHORAGE — Jeannie Hebert-Truax is the winningest head coach in the history of Alaska high school girls’ basketball. She’s also a longtime mathematics teacher at Wasilla High School. Hebert-Truax must have a formula for success on the basketball coach, right?

She does.

She’s even had it printed on a back of a T-shirt.

We > me.

Hebert-Truax has used the “we is greater than me,” slogan with other Wasilla squads. But her 2015-16 group may epitomize the message.

Saturday, Wasilla used an all-around team effort to score a 44-40 win over Dimond in the title game of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Four different players scored at least a half-dozen points and eight different Warriors played at least nine minutes as Wasilla collected its state-record sixth 4A girls’ title in program history.

“Everyone is in it for the team, No 1 down to No. 12, my two video girls to the managers,” Hebert-Truax said after the win. “Everyone from the bench up sticks together as a group.”

The “we greater than me,” is not just a slogan for a coach, but a concept the players embrace, junior McKenna Dinkel said.

“One hundred percent,” Dinkel said. “We’re so close on and off the court. We play together, cheer each other. We love our bench. They really support us. It’s a great program.”

Freshman Olivia Davies and sophomore Azlynn Brandenburg each scored a team-high 11 points in the victory, to help Wasilla clinch its fifth state title in the 21 years Hebert-Truax has been head coach. The underclassmen also helped Wasilla earn its first state crown since 2013.

Senior Kellie Lindeman is the only player left in the program who was around for the 2013 state title, and earned the chance Saturday, to celebrate a state title as a senior captain.

“It feels unbelievable. Winning a state title my freshman year was awesome. After a rough couple of years, it’s rewarding. It’s the best feeling in the world,” Lindeman said.

After Wasilla jumped to a double-digit lead in the third, Dimond made a late push in the fourth to reduce Wasilla’s lead to just a possession late in the game. Dimond freshman Alissa Pili used a rebound and putback with 1:20 left in regulation to cut the Warriors lead to 42-40.

Still leading 42-40 with 13 seconds left in the fourth, the Warriors inbounded the ball to Davies.

Davies was fouled with 7.7 seconds left, and went to the free throw line with a chance to ice the game for the Warriors.

“At first, it was a lot of pressure. But when I got to the line, I was like, I’m going to be fine,” said Davies, who earned Northern Lights Conference Player of the Year honors as a freshman this season.

Davies hit both free throws to cement the win for the Warriors.

Hebert-Truax lauded the freshman’s ability to come through in a clutch situation.

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders. She was probably a little bit exhausted, but she knew those were big and had to go in,” Hebert-Truax said.

Davies said the way the Warriors work as a team helped Wasilla weather the late Dimond run.

“It keeps us together, keeps us calm, keeps us collected. We know we can trust each other,” Davies said of Wasilla’s team chemistry.

In addition to the 11 points each for Davies and Brandenburg, Dinkel added nine points in the victory and Lindeman chipped in six. Senior Leya DePriest, who will play for Division I University of Denver next year, capped her stellar prep career with a team-high eight rebounds in the win.

Wasilla, which finished the season 29-2 overall, faced adversity late in each win during the tournament. The Warriors needed overtime to beat rival Colony in the first round, and both West Valley and Dimond erased big deficits with fourth-quarter runs in the semifinals and the championship. But each night, Wasilla was able to get the job done.

“It’s about persevering, doing what we have to do to make things happen,” Hebert-Truax said. “They dug deep. All of them did what they had to do to win the big one.”

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

Wasilla 44, Dimond 40

4A girls state title game

Saturday, Anchorage

Dimond 7-13-7-13—40

Wasilla 12-12-11-9—44

Dimond (40) — Osborne 1 0-0 2, Shipman 2 2-4 6, Jones 3 1-2 9, Carle 1 1-2 3, Shapp 2 1-2 6, Pili 5 4-5 14; Totals; 14 9-15 40.

Wasilla (44) — Davies 3 3-5 11, Drorbaugh 0 1-2 1, Baham 0 2-2 2, Lindeman 1 4-4 6, Brandenburg 4 0-0 11, Dinkel 3 3-4 9, DePriest 3 0-0 4; Totals: 12 15-21 44.