Girls: Chaparral beats Basic 44-34

Matt O'Brien

Thursday, Feb. 5, 1998 | 9:15 a.m.

Those anticipating a shootout at the gym on Annie Oakley Drive were disappointed, but at least the Cowboys did prevail.

In an important Sunrise Division game at Chaparral Wednesday evening, the hosts overcame a lackluster first-half performance to claim a 44-34 victory over Basic.

The win improved Chaparral (13-8 overall) to 9-3 in the Sunrise Division, a game behind Green Valley for second place. The loss dropped Basic (16-9, 9-4) into fourth place, a half-game behind Chaparral and two games ahead of Las Vegas. The top four teams qualify for the 4A Southern Zone playoffs, which start next week.

"This victory puts us in pretty good shape," said Chaparral coach Rochelle Whittaker, evaluating her team's chances of making the playoffs. "But we still have to play Silverado and Green Valley, two of the top teams in the division."

Chaparral knew the importance of the game and looked nervous in the opening half. It shot poorly from the floor (7-24) and turned the ball over 11 times, but still managed to take a 19-16 lead into intermission.

The second half was a different story.

Basic struggled from the floor and repeatedly turned the ball over while Chaparral found a rhythm. Following back-to-back steals and layups by senior Shelly Reese, the Cowboys took a 30-22 lead into the final quarter.

A layup by Jennifer Kline cut the Cowboys' lead to six (39-33) with just under three minutes remaining, but the Wolves drew no closer. Reese made a pair of free throws with 52 seconds on the clock and Alexia Craig sealed the game with a steal at midcourt.

Basic coach Jan Van Tile was disappointed with the play of his team, but optimistic about its chances of making the playoffs.

"We'll be OK," said a drained Van Tile following the game. "We've got Silverado and Vo-Tech at home, then we travel to Las Vegas on Wednesday. I think we'll be all right."

Luckily, his team won't have to face Craig again. The 5-foot-6 junior guard scored a game-high 19 points and repeatedly thwarted Basic comeback attempts with her ball-handling and scoring. Sophomore Krystal Turner had an uncharacteristic poor shooting game, but chipped in a game-high 12 rebounds.

Dawnie Boudreaux led the Wolves with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Kline finished with 13 points.