Wasilla girls tenacious

The Wasilla Warriors treated the Chugiak Mustangs to a taste of defensive tenacity on the basketball court Saturday at Wasilla High School.

Utilizing their height advantage to clog the inside and hustling guards to attack the perimeter, Wasilla held Chugiak to small offensive gains as it charged to a 53-36 victory.

"It was a scrappy game," said Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert. "We played with good intensity on defense."

Brittney Kroon and Marsha Schirack patrolled the inside to allow few points from under the basket. Chandice Cronk, Christie Hayes, Tonya James and Kelly Tompkins swarmed the perimeter and allowed few good looks from outside.

Kroon dominated offensive play with shots under the basket from passes to the inside and strong rebounding. Kroon scored 22 points in the game.

Kroon's opportunities came from the solid perimeter shooting of Cronk and Hayes, who forced Mustang players to come out and defend. This created passing lanes to get the ball into Kroon. Cronk and Hayes each scored 11 points.

Wasilla jumped to a 12-0 lead to start the game, blending shots from all over the court to score points while swarming the Mustangs with a pressure defense that threatened Chugiak each time they tried to get the ball up the court. The Mustangs scored two quick strikes at the end of the quarter to make the score 12-5.

Chugiak found better success in the second quarter by running screens to get cutters open for shots from the perimeter, closing the gap 22-17 late in the second quarter. A three-point shot by Cronk at the buzzer gave the Warriors a 25-17 lead at halftime.

The Warriors continued feeding passes to Kroon inside for points early in the third quarter until Chugiak starting packing the inside. The Warriors began turning the ball over with forced passes that the Mustangs intercepted and converted into points.

Hebert took a timeout with 1:35 remaining in the quarter to regroup and get the Warriors back on track.

"I took the timeout to settle them down and get them to be patient," Hebert said.

Wasilla's patient ball movement returned and the Warriors finished the third quarter with a 39-31 lead.

The Warriors took control of the game in the fourth quarter, returning to its style of shooting from everywhere on the court.

The Warriors' defense shut down the Mustangs in the quarter, allowing Chugiak only six points as they scrambled for any opportunity for an open shot as the Warriors went on to take the 53-36 win.

Wasilla will get its biggest test of the season Friday when it takes its undefeated record and number-two ranking to East Anchorage High School to take on the number one-ranked Thunderbirds.

"We will have to bring pressure and take care of the ball against East," Hebert said. "They will have to take care of our height and we will have to counter their quickness."