Fairbanks’ Samantha Picklesimer goes up for a basket against Worthington Christian Tuesday evening. Picklesimer scored six points during the Lady Panthers’ 55-27 loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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Fairbanks girls basketball coach Landon Fraker sees the 2018-19 season as a series of steps… 22 in all.
“Tonight, we took another step,” he said after the Lady Panthers’ 55-27 loss to Worthington Christian. “Our cutting and passing were much better and we’re learning to play at a faster speed.
“Obviously, the win last Saturday (over Northeastern) helped give us more confidence,” he said. “This is our latest step… we’ve got 22 of them this year.”
Although the Lady Panthers (1-3) committed 31 turnovers, they did have more offensive opportunities than they had during previous losses.
FHS had numerous good looks at the basket, but shot just 28 percent from the field.
“That’s about where we have been shooting so far this year,” said Fraker.
Fairbanks (which will host West Jefferson on Saturday) had trouble putting the ball in the basket during the first five minutes of the game.
As a result, the Warriors built a 12-0 lead during that stretch.
Fairbanks didn’t score its first point until the 2:40 mark of the opening quarter on a free throw by Joelle Ziegler.
She scored FHS’ first four markers, all from the charity stripe.
The Lady Panthers didn’t hit their first field goal until Macy Wanamaker buried a long three-pointer with 44 ticks on the timer.
Wanamaker was fouled on the play and while she couldn’t cash in on the free throw attempt, she did cut Fairbanks’ deficit in half at 14-7.
Worthington Christian’s Amanda Mayotte answered with a trifecta of her own to send the Warriors into the next stanza with a 17-7 lead.
Katherine Weakley, who led all scorers with 18 points, knocked down a pair of three-pointers en route to 14 first-half markers for the Warriors.
The only basket for FHS during the eight-minute stretch came on Samantha Picklesimer’s putback on the offensive glass.
Molly Olson put the Lady Panthers’ other point of the quarter on the board with a free throw.
That gave FHS double digits in scoring, but the visitors took a 29-10 advantage at the half.
Things began to pick up just a little bit for Fairbanks during the third quarter.
Michaela Writesel scored a bucket after a Warrior turnover and Bella Rowland sliced the nylon with a trifecta.
Weakley, though, scored on two consecutive possessions as Worthington Christian climbed to a 35-15 lead.
Trifectas from Mayotte and Libby Dalton helped carry the Warriors into the final quarter with a 47-19 advantage.
From there, the visitors cruised to the victory.
Worthington Christian
Weakley 8-0-18, Mayotte 4-0-10, Hartings 3-1-7, Burns 2-0-6, Styer 2-0-5, L. Dalton 1-0-3, C. Dalton 1-0-2, King 1-0-2, Swartz 1-0-2, Slaughter 0-0-0, Hall 0-0-0, Morris 0-0-0. Totals 23-1-55.
Three-point goals: Weakley 2, Mayotte 2, Burns 2, Styer 1, L. Dalton 1.
Fairbanks
Picklesimer 3-0-6, Ziegler 0-6-6, Rowland 2-0-6, Writesel 2-1-5, Wanamaker 1-0-3, Olson 0-1-1, Rausch 0-0-0, Kugel 0-0-0. Totals 8-8-27.
Three-point goals: Rowland 2, Wanamaker 1.
The FHS jayvees won their game over the Warriors by a 21-20 verdict.
Riley Blevins and Megan Rausch each scored six points for the Jr. Lady Panthers.