Warrior girls storm past Dimond

WASILLA -- When the Dimond girls' basketball squad entered the Wasilla High gym Saturday, they were a group of mighty Lynx.

Dimond left mere pussy cats.

The Wasilla girls' outscored Dimond 62-28 in the final three quarters, as they buried the Lynx 84-49.

The Warriors led just 22-21 after the first period, before they decided to put a shooting clinic against Dimond.

The combination of the Warriors stingy defense and their ability to hit their shots constantly, led to Wasilla schooling Dimond.

"We shot only 16-42 in the first half and a lot fell in the second," Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

Chandice Cronk led the Warriors with 28 points in the contest. Cronk hit four of her seven shots from downtown, and nailed each of her 10 attempts from the free throw line.

The Warriors were deadly from the stripe, hitting their final 16 charity shots of the game.

According to the Warrior mentor, the team has stressed free throw shooting in practice as of late.

"Our goal is to shot 80 percent in practice," Hebert-Truax said. "We run if we miss. The work is definitely having an effect."

Guard Kelly Tompkins hit six of eight free throws in the second half, en route to a 16-point performance. Tompkins also had a personal five-point run midway through the third quarter.

Tompkins took a Cronk pass and cut in for a layup midway through the third quarter, and then immediately followed with a three-pointer after Cronk grabbed a defensive board and passed the ball up the court.

Cronk and Tompkins were only two of four Warriors to score in double digits for Wasilla. Senior guard Trista White scored 16 points, while senior forward Marsha Schirack added 12 points.