Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wolverettes Win Murfreesboro Tournament

One tournament, three victims, one trophy.

This is how last week went for the Prescott Wolverettes as they won the Murfreesboro Tournament.

The Wolverettes went through Sparkman and Hatfield, on their way to the winner's circle after handling Oden in the finals.

However, foul problems almost cost Prescott the games against Hatfield and Oden.

In fact, Coach Cecily Butler had to pull the team out of its man-to-man defense, replacing it with a two-three zone to keep the starters on the floor in these two games.

This, though, is understandable because the Wolverettes have only played seven games (posting a 6-1 record), and haven't yet jelled as a team.

Prescott opened the game putting Oden's Lady Wolves on the ropes with a 17-8 score after one period of play. However, the Wolverettes were unable to administer the knockout punch.

Both teams scored 24 points in the second period, giving Prescott a 41-32 halftime lead.

But the starting five had some serious foul trouble as the buzzer sounded ending the first 16 minutes of play. At least three Wolverettes had three fouls at the time, giving their coach plenty to worry about.

There was also an experience problem for Prescott. Oden entered the game with a 15-3 record. The Wolverettes had the fewest games played going into the tourney.

The Lady Wolves won the third stanza 17-13 as free throws accounted for most of the Oden points. Still, Prescott's pack held the lead at 54-49 heading into the final period.

Oden was able to cut the lead to less than five points on several occasions in the final period, but when it came down to winning and losing, the Wolverettes refused to lose, winning the match on points in the final round.

Stacy Stockton paced Prescott with 17 points, while Laura Culpepper netted 15. Gladies Gulley ripped the cords for 14, with Jessica Hildebrand contributing another dozen, along with five assists.

Culpepper also pulled down an important 16 boards, while dishing out four assists. Gulley snared eight rebounds as well.

C. Goodner led all scorers with 24.

Prescott went to the line 32 times, converting 20 for a 63 percent average. Oden, on the other hand, nailed 17 of 25 free throws, for a 68 percent rate.

PRESCOTT 64

HATFIELD 60

The middle game of the tourney saw the Wolverettes struggle with foul problems.

Again, Prescott started out strong, only to have to back out of the man defense in favor of the safer and slower 3-2 zone.

At the end of one, the Wolverettes led 20-11 and were up 34-27 at the half because of foul trouble.

Hatfield's Lady Bulldogs won the third quarter 18-13, putting a scare into the Wolverettes as the score narrowed to 47-45.

But the Wolverette resiliency again showed through as Butler's Brawlers eked out the win.

Gulley paced the team with 17 points, while Culpepper followed with 13. Leslie Hines and Stockton each canned 11.

Gulley was the leading rebounder with 15, while Culpepper was next cleaning the glass 14 times, including four assists. Stockton also ripped down five boards, while Hildebrand had four with three assists.

Kizer led the Lady 'Dogs with 26 points.

PRESCOTT 62

SPARKMAN 33

There was nothing pretty about the Wolverettes's opening game against the Lady Raiders of Sparkman.

At no time were Butler's Brawlers threatened by the Lady Raiders.

In fact, the Lady Raiders learned what it meant to be plundered, raided, sacked, pillaged, looted, ransacked, bent, folded, spindled and mutilated -- and this was by the bench.

Prescott's starting five played less than a full quarter in the contest, as the Lady Raiders simply didn't have the horses to stay with the Wolverettes.

At the end of the first quarter, Prescott held a 22-4 lead. This was stretched to a 36-10 advantage at the half, with the third period finally belonging to Sparkman 19-13.

By then, though, the game was pretty much over as the Wolverettes led 49-29 and simply cruised in the final frame.

Culpepper led the Wolverettes with 11 points, including one three and six rebounds. Hines and Christy Martin each scored from long- range, while Jessica Hendrix cleared the glass four times.

Sparkman was led by Blevins' 13 points.

The Wolverettes only blemish on the contest was at the charity stripe, where they were three of nine. Sparkman fared better, converting seven of 16.

Butler, for the most part, was pleased with the performance of the Wolverettes. "I thought overall there were more pluses than minuses," she said. "I saw things we have to work on.

"We need to get in sync, work on our free throws and on blocking out."

The Christmas break, Butler said, will not help her team, as the Wolverettes are just beginning to get used to playing together.

"It was a decent tournament," she said. "The last two teams (Hatfield and Oden) were as tough or tougher than any in our conference." This is because both are class B schools and have been playing basketball since mid-October, along with being rich in roundball tradition.

"But our girls kept their heads. Our fast break looked good. There was a lot of heart on the floor, and our post game looked better. Gulley is looking more confident and we did a good job of feeding the ball to her."

PRESCOTT 68

FORDYCE 32

Heading into the Murfreesboro Tournament, the Wolverettes had hoped to tune up their roundball skills against the Lady Redbugs of Fordyce.

This didn't happen. In a game played Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Wolverettes pummeled Fordyce 68-32, with the starting five watching the majority of the contest from the bench.

The Lady 'Bugs never had a chance against Prescott as the tenacious man-to-man defense and fleet-footed offense was more than they could handle.

At the end of the first eight minutes, Prescott led 16-3. By halftime, the score was 33-7 and didn't improve for the Lady 'Bugs from there. When the buzzer sounded ending the third segment, the Wolverettes were firmly in command 51-22.

Hildebrand and Gulley combined for 13 points each, while Kacy Ammons came off the bench to pour in 10 more.

Brown led the Fordyce effort with nine.

The Wolverettes were also hot from the stripe as they sent 15 of 20 shots through the nets. The Lady 'Bugs were a scant three of 11.

Prescott's girls will hit the road again Friday night when they make the long trip to Fountain Lake to tangle with the Lady Cobras. They will be accompanied by the junior and senior boys teams.

CUBETTES 47

GURDON 44

Visiting Gurdon was a chore for the Cubettes, Thursday, Dec. 12, but the Prescott crew managed to come home with a 47-44 win.

The Lady Devils actually won the first three fourths of the game, but a strong fourth period provided the impetus for the Prescott win.

Gurdon got off to an 11-1