For the week of February 5 - 11, 2003

Wood River girls
(16-5) trim Buhl
56-54 in overtime

Record-setting night for
Wolverines, Natalie Green

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By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer

Syringa Stark didn’t score a single field goal during Tuesday’s Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference girls’ basketball tournament game in Hailey.

But, on a record-setting night for the Wood River High School girls’ basketball team, 5-9 sophomore Stark was instrumental in her team’s 56-54 overtime win over the Buhl Tribe.

Stark, who pulled down two rebounds and blocked two shots in the four-minute overtime period, also swished two free throws with 1:21 left in the extra period that proved to be the winning points in the spine-tingling two-point Wolverine victory.

On Buhl’s final attempt to tie the game and force a second overtime, Stark stripped the ball from Buhl’s penetrating guard Dani Kippes and fell on it, forcing a jump ball that went Wood River’s way on the possession arrow with one second left.

Stark credited junior teammate Jessica King for giving her a heads-up on the decisive play. Stark said, "Jessica King called it beforehand. She said Buhl was going to pick-and-roll. That had me prepared. Their player wasn’t protecting the ball so I swept it away and jumped on it.

"I was pumped up. This could be the first year that our team goes to state, and this was the first step."

On a cold-shooting night, clutch plays like those provided by Stark were responsible for coach Brent Carnduff’s #3-seeded Wolverine squad (16-5 overall) advancing to the second round of the six-school SCIC tournament. Wood River goes against #2-seeded Declo (16-5) on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at Filer High School.

Carnduff said about Tuesday’s nip-and-tuck match-up against #4-seeded Buhl (11-8), "We were fired up for this game. We had been waiting a week to play and the girls were very confident—maybe a little too confident and a little too excited.

"We didn’t shoot well, but we did a great job of rebounding when we weren’t shooting well—and we came up with some big baskets."

By posting its third consecutive win and 13th in 15 games, Wood River surpassed the school’s all-time single-season wins record established by last year’s 15-8 squad. The Wolverines avenged their only home loss of the season, 49-40 to Buhl Dec. 10.

Another important record was set.

Junior Natalie Green, in only her third varsity season, scored a game-high 18 points—13 coming in the second half—to break Laurel Williams’ school career scoring record. Green now has 695 points. Williams had 691. Green broke the mark with a free throw with 6:30 left in the fourth.

Green (17.7 ppg) has now scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games.

In other first-round SCIC games Tuesday night: #1-seeded Filer (13-6) held off #6 Kimberly (2-17) by a score of 59-50; and Declo outscored #5 Gooding (4-17) by a 44-26 count.

Filer will play the winner of Thursday’s Wood River-Declo game for the SCIC championship next Monday at 7 p.m. at Filer High. Only the top two teams from the tournament qualify for the State 3A tournament Feb. 20 in Kuna.

 

Wolverines hold off Buhl

Buhl’s 6-0 senior post Sherry King sank two free throws for the first scoring of the game. But after Tiffany Wheeler answered with a 3-pointer, Wood River never trailed thereafter.

The Wolverine leads reached 8 points in the first quarter, 10 points in the second and 7 points in the third. By going 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the first three quarters and taking advantage of poor Wood River shot selection and missed shots, Buhl hung in there and chipped away.

"We talked a lot about not fouling and did a pretty good job of that, but Buhl just didn’t miss their free throws," said Carnduff.

Before Tuesday’s game the Wolverines also talked about guarding Buhl’s Sherry King, who had averaged 18.0 ppg in the two previous meetings of the teams—Buhl winning in Hailey 49-40, and Wood River winning in Buhl 69-51 on Jan. 23.

"We studied a lot of tape and worked on doubling down on King and taking her out of her game," said Carnduff.

Wood River’s defense did its job. King was held to three field goals and 12 points, plus 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists.

She wasn’t the only King on the court.

As she’s done all season, Wood River junior Jessica King quietly fired up her team with rebounding and quick outlet passes and key baskets.

King (7.6 ppg), going hard to the offensive glass, scored 5 of her 13 points in the first quarter as Wood River built a 13-7 lead at the break. King (5-for-5 at the free throw line) finished with a team-high 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.

Although Buhl held Green scoreless in the second quarter, six other Wolverines scored points despite the sub-par shooting. Many of the points came from Hailey’s bread-and-butter—its pressing defense and transition game. Buhl wised up and pulled off its own press for the rest of the game, electing to make Wood River beat them in half-court offense.

"Our shooting was a little off, but we made up for it with defense in the first half," said Stark.

Wood River’s 27-20 half-time lead started shrinking after intermission because Green, who scored five of the seven Wolverine field goals in the second half, was the only Hailey player making her shots. With each miss, Wood River started to become more anxious. They took poor shots.

In contrast, Buhl starting popping from downtown over Wood River’s zone. Junior Jessica Brown hit 12 of her 15 points after the half. Buhl’s quick penetrator Kippes (11 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals) was everywhere, grabbing loose balls. Junior Krystal Avelar (9 rebounds) tallied 10 of her team-high 16 points after intermission and made some long ones.

Leading 37-34 after three, Wood River built a tiny safety net when Green drilled two 3-pointers for a 46-38 lead with 5:28 remaining. Kippes then scored three baskets and sliced the lead to 48-44. Sherry King passed to Jessica Brown on the press break for a 48-46 lead with 1:45 left.

Protecting the two-point lead with a slowdown offense, Wood River wasn’t patient enough in its weave and missed a couple of hurried shots. That gave Buhl a chance at a last shot with 12 seconds left. Stark fouled Jessica Brown in the paint, and Brown calmly made two charities with four seconds left for a 48-48 tie.

The percentages finally caught up with Buhl in the overtime.

Having made 13-of-14 free throws in regulation, the Tribe missed three of its four charities in OT. Wood River succeeded on 4-of-6 from the stripe in OT, starting with Haisley’s two charities for a 50-48 lead.

Stark (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 blocked shots) and Green each blocked a Buhl shot to preserve the two-point margin. Then Stark passed to Emily Smith (8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists) for a transition basket and 52-48 cushion.

Buhl’s Avelar rifled a 24-foot 3-pointer for a 52-51 game, and Avelar subsequently made the second of two charities for a 52-52 tie with 2:22 left.

Another blocked shot by Stark set in motion a Wolverine fast break that Jessica King converted for a 54-52 lead. Then Stark pulled down a rebound, was fouled by Jessica Brown and made two charities for a 56-52 lead with 1:21 on the scoreboard.

When Sherry King grabbed her own rebound and banked a putback for a 56-54 game, she was also fouled by Kelly Haisley—who fouled out. Haisley (7.5 ppg), the only Wood River senior, was given a standing ovation by the Hailey faithful. She finished her final game on the Hailey court with 4 points and 3 boards.

King missed the free throw and Stark grabbed the rebound. Wood River went into its weave and Smith was fouled, but she missed both.

Buhl had one final chance to tie the game and possibly win it with a 3-pointer. The Tribe inbounded from midcourt with seven seconds left and got the ball to Kippes, but Stark stripped the ball to preserve the win.

Other Wood River stats: Green 7 rebounds; Liz Rippon 2 points and 3 rebounds; Tiffany Wheeler 5 points and 2 assists; and Maddie Thies 2 rebounds. Wood River out-rebounded Buhl 39-34—and all 11 Wolverines had at least one rebound.

 

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