Fairbanks senior Emily Wilson (right) battles for a loose ball at Pleasant on Tuesday evening. The Lady Panthers saw their season come to an end with a Division III tournament loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The Fairbanks High School girls basketball team opened the 2017-18 season by playing Marion Pleasant nearly three months ago.
The Lady Panthers also concluded their campaign with a Division III tournament loss to the Lady Spartans on Tuesday.
There was one big difference between the two games.
In late November, Pleasant rolled to an easy 78-17 victory.
Tuesday’s outcome was much more competitive, with the Lady Panthers falling, 42-28.
“The first time we went up against them, Pleasant played at a faster pace,” said FHS coach Brock Oakes. “Tonight, they didn’t run like they normally do.”
The Lady Spartans didn’t shoot the ball all that well throughout the game.
Fairbanks, however, could not capitalize on that fact due to a huge amount of turnovers.
“There were a lot of times we gave them the ball,” said Oakes, who coached the game one day after undergoing surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. “We shot ourselves in the foot by not going after a lot of rebounds and turning over the ball.”
Fairbanks, which ended the season with a 10-13 record, came up with numerous empty possessions during the opening period.
Pleasant could have jumped out to a huge lead, but missed a good number of shots, both on the low block and from the perimeter.
Ashley Anderson did score after a Panther turnover as the Spartans (16-7) took a 14-4 lead into the second quarter.
Leah Maniaci caught fire for Pleasant by scoring nine of her game-high 15 points during the ensuing period.
Audrey Brackenridge stayed on the Spartan senior, while her teammates played a zone configuration.
Maniaci, however, buried a pair of three-pointers that gave the home team a 28-6 lead with a couple of minutes left in the half.
FHS’ Emily Wilson knocked down a three-ball and hit another shot at the buzzer as the Lady Panthers took a 28-11 deficit into the turn.
The third quarter was nearly halfway completed before either team got back on the scoreboard.
Pleasant, which did not suffer a turnover during the first half, coughed up the ball on several possessions.
The Lady Panthers, who committed 15 miscues during the first 16 minutes, turned the pumpkin over seven consecutive times to start the third set.
They ended the game with 26 turnovers, while the Spartans committed only eight.
Erika Linder’s trifecta for Pleasant with 4:08 to play in the quarter marked the first points of the stanza.
Logan Stidham and Joelle Ziegler scored to put FHS’ gap at 31-15.
Stidham later sank a three-pointer, pulling the Lady Panthers to within 33-20 by the end of the third quarter.
Emma Kugel hit both ends of a one-and-one for FHS, narrowing the spread to 36-22 to begin the final period.
Points were, however, difficult to come by for the Lady Panthers the rest of the way.
Brackenridge sank one charity toss, making the score 40-23 with 3:18 on the timer.
The season came to an end for Fairbanks when Michaela Writesel hit a jumper right before the final horn.
Pleasant
Maniaci 4-5-15, Linder 4-3-13, Anderson 3-0-6, Craycraft 2-0-5, Waddell 1-0-2, Holler 0-1-1, James 0-0-0, G. Davis 0-0-0, E. Davis 0-0-0, Twine 0-0-0, Long 0-0-0. Totals 14-9-42.
Three-point goals: Maniaci 2, Linder 2, Craycraft 1.
Fairbanks
Stidham 2-4-9, Wilson 2-0-5, Brackenridge 1-3-5, Olson 1-1-3, Ziegler 1-0-2, Writesel 1-0-2, Kugel 0-2-2, Walls 0-0-0, Picklesimer 0-0-0, Wanamaker 0-0-0, Rowland 0-0-0. Totals 8-10-28.
Three-point goals: Stidham 1, Wilson 1.