Warrior continues trend of standout hoop players

Just hours after she led the Wasilla Warriors to their third straight Region III title, Chandice Cronk was named the region's most outstanding player of the year.

The sharp-shooting Warrior guard hit shots with improbable timing, launched shots at extraordinary distances and paced the potent Warrior offense with more than 20 points per game. Just by watching a snippet of the Cronk highlight reel, it would be easy to see why the future Santa Clara Bronco is the region's MVP, But Cronk is not the only Valley hoopster worth mentioning in a discussion of girls' basketball greatness.

In another year, or another time, if Cronk was lighting up a scoreboard in another region, there were two other players on Valley squads who would gladly take and rightfully deserve the region's top honor. Palmer's Emily Bolling and Colony's Kristina Klapperich have each made their case to be considered for the prestigious honor with their play during their senior season. Each 4A girls' program in the Mat-Su Valley boasts a region player-of-the-year candidate, making the Palmer-Wasilla area one of the most talent-rich zones in terms of girls basketball in the state of Alaska.

According to the coaches of the three squads, it is far from unusual.

"There is deep talent," Palmer head coach Lyle Busbey said. "(The schools) have all had players that could be player of the year; it's (which team) has the better season."

The level of individual talent has translated into tremendous success for the Valley programs. Palmer and Colony have each won state titles in the last decade and Wasilla is the state runner-up for the last two seasons. In 2000, the Valley squads were three of the top four teams in the state. Colony was the state runner-up, while Palmer finished third and Wasilla placed fourth in the state tournament. In 1999, Palmer edged Colony in overtime to win, arguably, the most exciting state championship in the history of Alaska prep girls' basketball.

"Region III has dominated the state throughout the 1990s," Colony head coach Don Witzel said. "Palmer, Wasilla, Colony and Soldotna and Kenai in earlier years."

Witzel, the longtime mentor of the Knights, can only remember one year in the last decade, when a player from outside the Mat-Su Valley was named the girls' player of the year -- 1997 when a Kenai Kardinal standout took home the honor. Otherwise players like Jessica Moore, Leah Magner and Brittney Kroon have won the honor for Valley squads. Cronk has won player-of-the-year honors for each of the past two seasons.

"Without a doubt, Chandice is the player of the year," Witzel said. "She is an excellent shooter. You really don't have an answer for her, accept keep her from shooting."

"She is number one, I have never seen anyone score like Chandice," Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said after Cronk scored 26 points on 10-for-10 shooting in a win over Soldotna in the first round of the Region III championship tournament last week.

Cronk has burned every team Wasilla has played this year, programs ranging from the bottom of Region III to the top in the state. The Warriors knocked off Lathrop, thanks to a Cronk buzzer-beating jumpshot. With the win, Wasilla took over the top spot in the state, once held by Lathrop. Just days before the win over the Malemutes, Cronk hit a deep buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Warriors a more than comfortable lead against the rival Palmer Moose.

Her most notable feat of the 2003-04 season was a 48-point performance in an early season win over Colony.

"She has such a quick release, makes it awful tough (to defend her)," Witzel said. "She takes away from what we like to do. Let her alone and she'll bury one on us."

In the past decade the talent-rich Mat-Su Valley has churned dozens of all-region and all-state selections, but the coaches agree that 2004 was a year that three teams produced player-of-the-year candidates.

"This year more so," Witzel said. "A couple years ago we had Kelly Quinn, but Wasilla had Kroon. A few years Lyle had Lee. It kind of varies."

Bolling has spent the last four years establishing herself as one of the best players in the conference on both ends of the court. Bolling, who Busbey calls the best player he has ever coached in his 10-year tenure at Palmer, has started for the Moose since late in her freshman year. After an impressive freshman season, Busbey inserted Bolling into the starting lineup just before the region tournament.

Busbey said the difference between Bolling and the other players in the region, as well as the other players he has coached, is the wide range of her game.

"She's a complete player," Busbey said. "She's good in the post, a good shooter and she can defend."

Bolling averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, six steals and six assists per game this year. Her astronomical numbers earned her first-team all-region honors for the second straight year. Despite her all-state caliber performance, Bolling received just all-state honorable mention honors last season. Palmer's failure to advance to the state tournament hurt Bolling's chances of being either first or second team, according to Busbey. Palmer just missed the state tournament this year.

Klapperich has been a star for the Knights at two different positions.

Klapperich started her high school career playing in the post, but Witzel -- hoping to utilize her size and speed -- moved Klapperich to the wing prior to her junior season.

Since that point, Klapperich and the Knights have provided a nightmare for opposing coaches as they must plan to defend 6-foot-1 Klapperich, and lightning quick point guard Siena Locke -- another Region III star that should not be forgotten -- on the perimeter.

"Her athleticism for her size is her biggest plus," Witzel said. "Her height with her athleticism separates her. She has a lot of upside, once you get her to the next level."