Lady Wolves lose to Lady Vikings

More aggressive moves toward the hoop couldn't make up the difference, and the Lady Wolves lost twice on homecoming weekend.

The Wrangell girls basketball team shot 61 percent from the line as a team, and scored 20 of their points on fouls, indicative of a more aggressive offensive press. The Lady Vikings answered from the field Friday – making only three trips to the free-throw line in 32 minutes – and claimed the win 42-28.

The Lady Wolves would pull within three points near the end of the third quarter Friday, but couldn't keep up with the Petersburg offense in the fourth quarter, and were eventually outscored 9-4 in the third and 12-7 in the fourth.

Saturday brought foul trouble. Three of the Lady Wolves' notable offensive contributors notched five and took a seat by the end of the game: sophomore Taylor Bean, junior Darian Meissner, and senior Erica Smith. The Lady Vikings would spread fewer fouls on a larger number of players (only two players recorded three), and the Petersburg squad took the game 47-22.

The game is a divisional mismatch but historic rivalry between Wrangell and Petersburg. The losses won't affect the Lady Wolves' conference record, which stands at 2-4 on the season. The Wrangell team also won an additional game in a Christmas invitational in Ketchikan.

"They're a 3A school and they all can shoot the outside," head coach Edna Abella-Nore said. "That's pretty much it. That's the difference between a 2A school and a 3A school."

Bad falls from the field also plagued the Lady Wolves. Balls routinely spun off the rim throughout the game.

"Our baskets were just not going in," Abella-Nore said. "There were a couple times when it did go in the basket, then it went around the rim and then it popped out. That's really frustrating, but we don't have any control over that one."

The Lady Wolves also showed marked defensive improvements, Abella-Nore said.

Senior Erica Smith led the Lady Wolves with eight points Friday night. Smith picked it up from the line in the second half, shooting six-for-eight and adding a field goal. Sophomore Taylor Bean followed with seven points, five from the line plus a field goal to lead the Lady Wolves in the early going.

Sophomores Kylie Wallace and Ruby Brock led the Lady Vikings with eight points each. Wallace and Brock scored exclusively from the field. Brock accumulated six perimeter points and added a two-point field goal in the fourth. Wallace shot only two-point field goals. Senior Sierra Streuli followed with seven points.

Smith reclaimed her lead on the scoring Saturday night, sinking two two-point field goals and shooting four-for-seven from the free-throw line. Juniors Darian Meissner and Caroline Ward followed with four points each.

Wallace was the only Lady Viking to score points in the double digits Saturday, and she did so emphatically, netting 22 points on seven field goals and eight-for-eleven from the line. Wallace accounted for half the Lady Vikings' total points, and outdistanced Brock and freshman Emma Chase, the next two leading scorers on the Petersburg squad, by 16 points.

Junior Varsity

The JV Lady Wolves also suffered two losses this weekend.

The Lady Vikings took the opener 42-11 and repeated Saturday night 38-17.

Sophmore KayDee Howell led the Lady Wolves' offense with seven points on a three-pointer, a field goal, and two-for-two from the line. Bean trailed with three points on three-for-four from the line.

Petersburg sophomore Chase, who also did double-duty for both varsity and JV, lead the Lady Vikes with 10 points Friday night, followed by sophomore Brock with nine points from the outside.

Howell and freshman Dora Voltz led the Lady Wolves' scorers with four points Saturday. Howell sank a three and added a hash mark from the line. Voltz netted field goals in the second and third quarters. They were followed again by Bean, who drained one field goal and one free throw to notch three points.

The Lady Wolves continue their season this weekend with conference play against Craig.