WHS stuffs South

WASILLA — There is only one word worthy of describing Wasilla’s defensive effort during the Warriors’ lopsided win over South Anchorage on Saturday — suffocating.

Not only did the Wolverines have troubles getting the ball to half court at some points during their 66-37 loss to Wasilla. There were times when South would turn the ball over just a few feet from the baseline after an inbound pass thanks to the Warriors’ smothering attack.

“We got our press going and got quite a few steals,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said after the win.

Hebert-Truax can credit that press defense with turning an early deficit into a significant advantage. South led by as much as eight midway through the second quarter, but sparked by that defensive play, Wasilla marched back and held a five-point lead by the end of the half.

“Our defense pretty much took over,” Hebert-Truax said.

Senior Jenna Johnson and sophomore Celeste Colegrove each grabbed a pair of steals near the base line of their own offensive end during the final three minutes of the second quarter, and each of those South turnovers turned into easy scores for Wasilla.

With about three minutes left, Colegrove stole the ball and worked it over to sophomore Hillary Apangalook, who converted the easy lay-in.

That score cut South’s advantage to 21-19.

With 1:28 left in the half, Colegrove swiped a ball off the South inbound and immediately put away the shot to tie the score at 25-25.

Colegrove led the Warriors with a game-high 17 in the win.

Johnson, who added 16 in the victory, used the steal and score method to give Wasilla the 30-25 advantage.

“That gave us our momentum,” Hebert-Truax said of her team’s play on defense late in the second quarter. “And we kept it going in the second half.”

Wasilla held South to only nine points in the second half, and three in the third quarter.

South’s Glenn Gurule nailed one of her two three-pointers of the game during the first minute of the third, but Wasilla held the Wolverines scoreless during the remainder of the quarter.

Meanwhile, Wasilla scored 34 points during the final two quarters.

“Of course when we scored, we were able to press more,” Hebert-Truax said.

South also sent the Warriors to the free-throw line early in often. The Wolverines were tagged with 28 personal fouls, compared to Wasilla’s 16, and the Warriors finished 20-for-39 from the charity stripe.

Wasilla is now 3-3 overall and will host Colony, the defending 4A state champion, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Wasilla High.

Wasilla 66, South 37

Saturday, Wasilla

South 11-17-3-6—37

Wasilla 10-22-15-19—66

South (37) — Riley 0 2-2 2, Brewster 6 1-4 13, Gurule 3 1-3 9, Pichler 2 1-1 5, Stophlet 1 0-0 2, Stark 2 2-3 6; Totals: 14 7-13 37.

Wasilla (66) — Frizelle 0 1-2 1, Apangalook 2 1-6 5, Nuss 0 2-6 2, Naczi 1 0-0 2, Johnson 7 2-3 16, Bialka 0 1-2 1, Colegrove 5 7-11 17, Troisi 2 4-6 8, Cottle 4 2-3 10, Ziter 2 0-0 4; Totals: 23 20-39 66.

Three-point field goals: South 2 (Gurule), Wasilla 0; Total fouls: South 28, Wasilla 16; Fouled out: South- Brewster, Vincek.