Warrior girls win seventh straight region title

March 11, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

KENAI - In a Northern Lights Conference tournament dominated by all things Mat-Su, no group dominated quite like the Wasilla girls basketball team.

The Warriors firmly put their stamp on a seventh consecutive NLC title with a 61-41 thrashing of the Soldotna Stars in the conference title game Saturday at Kenai Central High School.

Five Mat-Su teams made the state tournament from the NLC tourney, but none were as dominant as the Warriors in the finals.

Wasilla scored the first seven points of the game and ran out to a 29-12 lead after the first half to leave no doubt as to which team would win.

Despite the game being played on the Kenai Peninsula, the gym at Kenai Central High School rocked with the cheers of Wasilla's large cheering section, which included a 50-plus member pep band and a large contingent of fans clad in the traditional red-and-white Hawaiian shirts that have become the Warriors' trademark.

&#8220We can't go anyplace and not be considered a home team advantage,” Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said following the game.

Anne Wesser and Jenna Johnson each scored 16 points for Wasilla, while Shelby Fulton added nine.

Wesser said the vocal Wasilla crowd made Saturday's championship game all the more special.

&#8220The support of our friends and family is phenomenal,” said Wesser, who was named the region's player of the year late Saturday night. &#8220It feels like home.”

Wasilla got scoring from eight different players and all nine Warriors who suited up played significant minutes.

&#8220Everyone contributed,” Hebert-Truax said.

The game was the culmination of another perfect conference season for the state's No. 1-ranked girls team, which has not lost a game to an NLC foe in 88 games.

Hebert-Truax said the win was nice because it send her team's seven seniors out with another NLC title to add to their collections.

As one of those seniors, Wesser said it was important to get the final win of the season and end on a high note.

&#8220We definitely wanted to keep it going,” she said.

However, she said the Warriors still have some unfinished business left at state.

&#8220We'll celebrate for a while, but we still have work to do,” Wesser said.

Hebert-Truax stayed on her players to the bitter end, jumping and yelling at even the smallest mistakes despite the fact the game was well in hand. She said such measures are needed to keep her team from getting complacent in such games.

&#8220I've got to find out ways to motivate them,” she said.

When it was finally over, however, the coach finally relaxed and celebrated with her players - although she acknowledged the Warriors have plenty of work left to do - and even said she plans on running her players extra in practice next week.

&#8220They're season's not over,” she said.

Wasilla girls 45, Palmer 39

Wasilla's road to the state tournament wasn't easy, as the Palmer Moose gave the defending Northern Lights Conference champions all they could handle in the teams' semifinal contest Friday.

Palmer led 10-8 after one quarter, and trailed the Warriors by just two points at the half.

The Moose got to as close as 22-21 in the third quarter before a three-pointer by Ayla Brown was followed by a bucket by Jenna Johnson to give Wasilla some breathing room.

The Warriors stayed hot to start the fourth quarter, eventually pushing their lead to double digits before Palmer made a late run.

After a 7-0 run cut the Wasilla lead to just three points, Palmer got an unlucky break when Brown stepped out of bounds following her rebound of a missed Moose field goal attempt. Referees failed to catch the play, and Wasilla scored on its ensuing possession to slow the Moose momentum.

Palmer would never get closer than three points as the Warriors nailed their free throws down the stretch.

Anne Wesser led all players with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Wasilla, while Palmer's Ashley Swetzof had seven points and 10 boards.

Johnson finished with 10 points for the Warriors.

Kelsey Campbell added nine points for Palmer.