Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolverettes Win Regional; Set Sights On State Crown

In the Lions den, Prescott's Wolverettes feasted on Lady Bulldogs as they won their second regional title in four years.

The Wolverettes sent Star City packing with a 73-63 win and places Prescott as a top seed in the state tournament at Fountain Lake this week.

From the outset, all fans had to do to see which team would win was to look in the eyes of Wolverette players. Each and every one was ready to play and do whatever it took to bring home the gold.

Since the start of the year, this crew has had only one goal - bring home a state title. They are now four games from accomplishing this.

Star City, though, came to play and didn't back down from Prescott's style of attack.

In fact, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead as the Wolverettes committed turnovers in the initial minutes of the contest.

With 5:57 showing in the first, the Lady 'Dogs held a 7-4 lead. This was a short-lived advantage as Andrea Cossey drained a three to tie the score a few seconds later.

It was the kind of game fans dream of seeing. Two teams going at one another from the opening tip to the final buzzer with the outcome in doubt most of the way.

Both squads played an up-tempo offense, running up and down the court, firing the ball around the perimeter looking for the best shot.

Period one went back and forth with neither team able to gain much of an advantage. But, as the clock wound down, the Lady 'Dog bombing attack was unleashed.

Star City's final three buckets all came beyond the arc as the Wolverettes shut down the lanes.

The quarter ended with Star City holding onto a 20-17 lead.

This didn't set well with the Wolverettes as they came out for the second stanza. Prescott opened in a full-court press.

Star City's players had fits trying to get the ball across the time line without it winding up in the hands of a Prescott player.

By utilizing the press, Prescott reeled off seven unanswered points to take a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left in the half.

The pace favored the Wolverettes as they went into a feeding frenzy, enjoying the taste of raw bulldog.

Five more points were added in the next minute to push the advantage to 29-20 for Prescott, as the Lady 'Dog players were unsure of how to cope with the pressure.

Still, to Star City's credit, the team didn't fold. The Lady 'Dogs bared their teeth and started fighting their way back, cutting the lead to 31-25 with 3:58 left.

Most of the night, the Wolverettes played a 1-3-1 zone, varying it with a triangle defense. Star City looked to play man for the most part, going to a 2-3 zone at times.

Neither mattered to Prescott as the Wolverettes were on a mission and the mission didn't include interference from Star City.

As the game wound down toward the intermission, Traci Graham was driving downcourt on a fast break. She launched a long two at the buzzer, watching as it rattled home to give Prescott a 37-29 lead at the half.

Star City wasn't ready to play dead in the second half and just give Prescott the regional title. The Lady 'Dogs opened the third quarter by scoring four quick points to cut the lead to 37-33.

This only served to irritate the Wolverettes as they responded with four of their own to put the lead back to eight.

The contest continued up and down the court, both offenses and defenses making their counterpart work for everything. Substitution was out of the question as there were no breaks in play until the 1:19 mark of the period.

At this time, Prescott mentor Bill Cossey made a quick change, swapping Amanda Hodges for Jessica Hendrix.

The officials let the two teams play, calling relatively few fouls. In fact, no fouls were called on Star City in the third quarter, much to the dismay of Prescott fans. This proved to be pivotal in the final period.

The third quarter closed with Prescott clinging to a 49-43 lead. The scoreboard also showed four fouls against the Wolverettes while a goose egg showed on the Star City side.

Cossey fired from long-range to start the final eight minutes, giving Prescott a quick 52-43 advantage.

The Wolverette attack continued as Prescott managed to build a double-digit lead at 57-43 with 4:37 left in the game.

Time was becoming a factor for Star City, while the clock was moving at a snail's pace for Prescott fans.

Fouls were also starting to play a part in the game. With 3:46 left, Prescott had five and Star City was yet to be called for one.

With the score favoring Prescott the Lady 'Dogs were forced to foul. When the officials called the first foul against Star City at the 3:08 mark, Wolverette fans gave him a standing ovation.

Star City was in trouble in more ways than the Lady 'Dogs realized. First they had to foul to stop the clock and put Prescott at the line. Second, they had to put Prescott at the line.

With the Lady 'Dogs in foul mode, the Wolverettes made sure the ball stayed in the hands of one of their top free throw specialists - Stacy Stockton.

However, Star City did make a run at Prescott with its full-court press. The Lady 'Dogs managed a couple of steals and cut margin to single digits, but never got closer than six points.

For the final 1:25, the game, for the most part, was played at the free throw line.

With the game winding down, Stockton hit six consecutive free throws and eight out of 10 to help preserve the win.

When the buzzer sounded the Wolverettes went berserk jumping up and down, falling into a big pile at mid-court, screaming at the top of their lungs.

The final stats of the game showed Prescott 12 of 14 from the charity stripe, while Star City hit six of 12.

Stockton led all scorers with her second 30-point game of the tourney. Cossey followed with 16, including a quartet of threes, while Graham contributed 11 to the victory. Hendrix and Hodges scored eight each.

Chandra Spencer led Star City's offense with 23 points. Tracy Austin scored 11, including three treys, while LaKesha Adams added 10.