Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolves remain unbeaten in league; Wolverettes beat Fouke

Prescott's senior boys remained undefeated in the 7AAA with a 60-53 win over Fouke Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The Curley Wolves controlled the opening tip and scored first. Fouke, though, played solid fundamental basketball and wouldn't let Prescott run.

The Wolves had to work for their shots and points. With 3:46 left in the first, Prescott's lead was 9-4.

At this point, though, the Wolves kicked it into another gear and spurted to a 16-9 lead with 1:12 left.

Period one ended with Prescott holding an 18-11 lead.

The Panthers opened the second quarter with the first points and followed it up with a three-pointer to cut Prescott's lead to 18-16.

The Wolves were out of sync early on, allowing the Panthers to get back in the game.

Fouke worked to earn a 21-20 lead with 6:00 left in the period.

From there, though, the two teams battled up and down the court with neither able to put any daylight between them.

Halftime arrived with the score knotted at 27-27.

Prescott's biggest problem in the first half was the inability to convert free throws into points. This problem continued in the second half.

Fortunately for the Wolves, the game didn't come down to free throws, as they only hit 14 of 35 from the charity stripe.

Prescott took the ball in the third, scoring first, ironically with a free throw to go up 28-27. This was as close as Fouke got the rest of the game.

After the free throw, the Wolves stole the ball and scored to push their lead to 31-27, as the shooter was fouled in the act.

Prescott turned up the heat defensively and smothered Fouke's offense. The Wolves also used superior height to get around the Panther 2-1-2 zone.

The Panthers forced shots, trying to get anything to fall, but had little luck. With four minutes left in the third, Prescott led 36-29.

The Wolves looked to run and gun with every possession.

Prescott got hot from the field late to push the score to 42-30. The quarter ended with the Wolves up 44-34.

The final period began the same way the second half started, with Prescott scoring first.

Fouke had an abundance of second-chance shots, but couldn't buy a bucket early on.

The Panthers tried to press the Wolves, but didn't have the foot-speed to keep up with the quicker Prescott players.

With 3:59 left in the game, Fouke got smart and began fouling Prescott. This slowed the pace of the game, and kept the Wolves from utilizing their offensive abilities.

At the time, Prescott led 51-40. Because of poor shooting from the line, the Wolves were outscored 13-9 the rest of the game.

Fouke was better at the line than Prescott, as the Panthers converted eight of 12 free throws.

Joe Stueart led Prescott with 23 points. Kevin Fulks and Decolen Prater added 13 each.

Eric Thomas paced Fouke with 18. Brannon Attaway scored 13, with Nathan Stenhauser adding 12.

WOLVERETTES 41

LADY PANTHERS 36

Prescott's Wolverettes returned to their old style of playing, using a tenacious pressing defense, to earn a 41-36 win over Fouke.

Fouke managed to score first, but the lead was short-lived as the Wolverettes went into action, stealing the ball and laying it in for points.

The Wolverettes were aggressive on both sides of the ball, pressing Fouke when on defense, and looking to run or attacking the basket on offense.

The Lady Panthers managed to score four points in the opening eight minutes, as they were stunned by Prescott's pressure defense.

The Wolverettes, on the other hand, posted 16 points in the first quarter, as they forced turnovers, then turned them into points.

Prescott's girls showed no fear in shooting from anywhere on the court, as whoever was open fired away.

Period one ended with Prescott leading 16-4.

Fouke opened the second period by scoring first, as the Lady Panthers attempted to pick up their game.

However, the Wolverettes would have none of it, and made Fouke work for everything.

There was little scoring in the first five minutes of the game, as Prescott led 19-8 with 3:30 showing.

Both teams scored four points during the remainder of the half, with Prescott leading 23-12.

The Wolverettes continued their onslaught in the third quarter, working to wear Fouke down.

The Lady Panthers managed to get back in the game as Prescott began making mistakes offensively and turning the ball over.

Period three ended with the score 30-22 favoring the Wolverettes.

Fouke outscored Prescott, 14-9, in the final eight minutes, but it wasn't enough to steal the win.

The Lady Panthers began firing threes, connecting occasionally, and managed to cut the lead to 30-27 with 6:18 showing.

As sweat was being mopped off the court, the Wolverettes managed to catch their second wind, and pushed their lead to 37-30 with 2:00 left, and held off a late Fouke run for the victory.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the line. Prescott hit six of 12 free throws, while Fouke connected on three of six.

Tammy Harris led the Wolverettes with 16 points.

Holly Smith was the game's leading scorer with 18 for Fouke.