Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Injuries Plague PHS Girls As They Enter Tournament

Winning the 7AA District Tournament may be a bit tougher than expected for the Prescott Wolverettes.

Aside from having every team in the league gunning for them, two starters are not 100 percent as the season winds down.

Gladies Gulley, the post player, is down with a bug, while Jessica Hildebrand, the point guard, sprained an ankle in practice recently.

While Gulley should be ready for the district contest, which will be played Feb. 17-22 in Nashville, it is not known if Hildebrand will or not.

The injury occurred while the team was running line drills and she took a bad step. The ankle problem kept Hildebrand out of Friday night's 58-40 win over Nevada, but she said it won't keep her out of post season play.

Friday night was also Senior Night for the boys and girls basketball team, along with the cheerleaders. This meant a packed house for the home team and a long night for the visitors.

It didn't start out to be difficult for the Lady BlueJays, though, as they opened the game with a 12-4 first quarter spurt.

Coach Cecily Butler started five seniors, and later said they were a bit nervous because of all the hoopla.

This was evident during the second period as the Wolverettes returned to form and took control of the game. Butler also substituted freely, making sure all seniors saw playing time in the contest.

The second eight minutes also saw the Wolverettes settle back into their game. The team got its first lead when Leslie Hines connected on one of her three treys at the 5:48 mark in the period.

From there, it was all Prescott for the remainder of the outing.

Butler unleashed the Prescott full-court press at the start of the third frame. The press forced turnovers under the Wolverette basket which were converted into easy points for the 22-3 crew.

Nevada, however, didn't roll over and quit. The Lady Jays fought hard, but simply didn't have what it took to stay with the Wolverettes.

By the end of three, Prescott held a 40-30 lead, and outscored Nevada 18-10 in the final eight minutes.

The Wolverettes were led by soph sensation Stacy Stockton's 17 points, as she came off the bench in the second period. Stockton was also a perfect five for five at the charity stripe.

Gulley followed with a 14 point night, which included seven rebounds and four steals.

Hines, once she found her range, nailed a trio of threes, and a two pointer as well for her 11.

Laura Culpepper was a force in the paint, as she pulled down 10 boards, while netting eight points. She also recorded four assists in the game.

Kaci Ammons also did well, with eight points and four assists.

Ramona Evans led Nevada with 16 points, while Shonda Young added 10.

The Wolverettes were perfect from the stripe, connecting on seven of seven, while Nevada was 0-3.

PRESCOTT 75

FOUKE 44

Fouke's Lady Panthers were Prescott's 21st victim of the season, as the Wolverettes hammered them 75-44.

For three periods, the Wolverette offense dominated the Lady Panthers, only being outscored 7-5 in the fourth quarter.

Butler's brawlers opened the game with a 27-16 first quarter lead, stretching this to a 46-27 halftime advantage.

The game was all but over by the time the buzzer sounded ending the third frame. At this time, Prescott held an insurmountable 70-37 lead.

By and large, it was just another day at the office for the Wolverettes as they march toward the district and regional tournaments.

Culpepper led the squad with 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Gulley ripped the cords for 17, including cleaning the glass 14 times and stealing the ball four times.

Stockton stroked the nylon for 13 points, with Hines adding 12 more points, including two treys, to her season stats. Hildebrand scored nine points and recorded eight assists.

Amber Arney added two points, with Melissa Beavert scoring one.

Misty Farley paced Fouke with 24 points, including four threes.

The Wolverettes were 15 of 20 from the free throw line, while Fouke was three of 11 at the stripe.

The Wolverettes played their final conference game Tuesday night as they traveled to De Queen, and finish up the regular season with a trip to Blevins Friday.

The Lady Hornets may not have a happy Valentine's day when the Wolverettes take to the hardwood.

Once the regular season ends, Prescott's girls prepare to defend their district crown, hopefully with an undefeated league record. This year's district contest will be played in the unfriendly confines of Nashville.

The 12-0 and 22-3 Wolverettes have already earned a trip to the regional tournament as regular season conference champs.

The top four teams from the district tourney earn trips to Fordyce for the regional battle, where the teams from the 7AA lock horns with squads from the ever-tough 8AA, including Star City and Drew Central.