West Valley boys, girls net wins over Hawks

FAIRBANKS — The West Valley boys and girls scored Mid Alaska Conference home court basketball victories against the Houston Hawks Thursday night.

The West Valley girls notched a 57-28 victory. Details and the score of the boys game were not available.

Jasmine Yarde and Hannah Mattson came out on fire in the first quarter as West Valley jumped out to a 21-5 lead and never looked back.

Yarde nailed three 3-pointers in the first quarter finished with a game-high 15 points. Mattson scored six of her 10 points in the first eight minutes of the game.

“We got off to a really good start,” said West Valley coach Steve Caciari. “Jasmine really got us going with those 3s in the first quarter.”

Caciari was happy with the way the Wolfpack were able to control the tempo throughout the game.

“Hannah Mattson and Jill Phillips did a great job of controlling the speed of the game,” Caciari said. “The kids moved well, rebounded better and our passing was outstanding.”

Yarde was playing in her second game since recovering from knee surgery.

“It’s really a plus to have her back on the floor,” Caciari said. “Not only for her scoring, but her leadership and experience makes our defense tougher. She really helps our team.”

Phillips, Sara Hajdukovich and Marina Washburn added six points apiece for the Wolfpack.

Savanna James nailed three 3-pointers and had a game-high 18 points for Houston. Janae Shannon added eight points.

West Valley entertains Colony tonight, with the boys game at 6 p.m. and the girls game at 7:30.

Information courtesy of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.