Lady Wolverines Photos: 1999-2000 season
Our first game of the 1999-2000 season against the 4A Kenai Kardinals. (Photo by Sheri Liebenthal)
Whitney gets fouled as she goes up for two in our game against 4A Skyview. (Photo courtesy of Sheri Liebenthal).
Freshman Whitney Leman being guarded by Michelle Gruber, (Seldovia Boy's Coach John Gruber's daughter) in the Seldovia game which took place the weekend of Feb. 4th and 5th. (Photo by Roberta Swick).
Assistant Coach Chris Hanson and Coach Dan Leman huddle with Corina Sullivan, Molly Bosick, Whitney Leman, Theresa Chihuly and Tasha Leman during a weekend game against Seldovia Sea Otters. (Photo courtesy of Roberta Swick).
(Photo taken by Sheri Liebenthal at the Ninilchik Invitational Tourney.) Tasha Leman and Theresa Chihuly guarding Unalaska girls from receiving a pass from sideline. (2/17/2000)
Ninilchik Lady Wolverines line up to greet visiting team Unalaska Raiders at the Ninilchik Invitational Tourney. (Photo taken by Sheri Liebenthal 2/18/2000)
Minto game.
Tasha downcourt.
Freshman Kelsey Dieman.
Brieanna Leman and Kourtney Hanson.
Sophomore Molly Bosick guarding Seldovia's Michelle Gruber during the Ninilchik Inv. Tourney. (Photo taken 2/19/2000, courtesy of Sheri Liebenthal).
Ninilchik vs. Seldovia.
Ninilchik vs. Minto up at the Tok Tournament Feb. 24-26. (Photos by permission of Tok Tourney webmeister Nick Young - thanks Nick!)
Ninilchik vs. CCS, photos courtesy of Sheri Liebenthal. Picture 1: Jessica Russo up for two. Picture two: Theresa Chihuly & Molly Bosick. Picture 3: Tasha Leman.
Theresa Chihuly & Kourtney Hanson.
Janelle Moerlein, Kelsey Dieman, and Maria Johnson.
Ninilchik vs. CIA March 17.
Seniors are recognized at our last home game w/ CIA, March 17. From left to rt: Kevin Cleveland, Noah George, Jacob Boll, Theresa Chihuly, Tasha Leman, Corina Sullivan
Freshman Whitney Leman up for two against CIA.
Banner hung in the Homer gymnasium at the District III, Region 2A tourney, hosted by Ninilchik.
Team huddle in the first game of the tournament for the Wolverines, against CIA. (3/23/00)
Theresa Chihuly up for two in our game against CIA 3/23/00.
Whitney Leman gets fouled as she goes up for a layup. (Tourney pictures courtesy of Sheri Liebenthal.)
Here are the three seniors, Corina Sullivan, Theresa Chihuly, and Tasha Leman. They were featured in the following Clarion article.
Search text: Ninilchik Lady Wolverines Collection: ken_2000 7/100 Powered By Web posted Tuesday, March 28, 2000 Ninilchik trio runs like clockwork By WILL MORROW Peninsula Clarion Watch the Ninilchik High School girls basketball team run a picture-perfect fast break, and you get the feeling that these kids could probably do it just as well with their eyes closed. "Just from playing with her for so long -- we click," explained Ninilchik senior Tasha Leman last Friday, following the Wolverines' win over Seldovia in the semifinals of the District 3/2A tournament. "I know where they're going to be. It's automatic." Automatic indeed. Leman and classmates Theresa Chihuly and Corina Sullivan have been working the floor for the Wolverines for four seasons now, and were part of a state championship team in their freshman season. The Wolverines took an unbeaten streak into last season's state final before losing to Klawock, and under the leadership of their three seniors, the District 3 champs are poised for another run at a state title. Much of the Wolverines' success can be attributed to the hard work at practice -- the hundreds of yo-yos run makes shooting or playing defense with tired legs seem routine. But there's another part of their game, the fun part, that comes from the hours spent shooting around during open gym. That's the part of the game where Sullivan fakes a move one way before dishing off to Chihuly cutting the other direction, or where Leman puts up a shot from the outside that has no business going in the net. "We've played together so long, I wouldn't say (Tasha) ever really surprises me," Chihuly, whose nickname is Tex, said. "She's notorious for making wild shots that no one else could hit. "We're so used to just playing with the guys during open gym. We're used to doing whatever works, with no set plays, just take it as it comes." The trio started playing together in fourth grade, when Ninilchik's elementary team played against teams from the Chapman School in Anchor Point and the school in Nikolaevsk. Dan Leman, the Wolverines' coach and Tasha's father, took notice as his daughter and her teammates worked up through the middle school ranks. "I watched them come up through junior high school," coach Leman said. "Even as freshmen -- that was a year we were state champs, and I think that helped them -- they made the team as freshmen, and it was a really strong team." Coach Leman has been able to blend his own workman-like approach to the game with his team leaders' free-wheeling style. The end result has been a suffocating pressure defense and an entertaining but brutally efficient offense. During the first few minutes of the district semifinal against Seldovia, Ninilchik won the tip-off and scored on a pin-point pass inside, then stole the ball away off the Sea Otters' inbound, giving Tasha a chance to kiss the glass with a wide-open 3-point shot, and the Wolverines had a 5-0 lead before Seldovia could get the ball past half court. "Our defense -- that's what I like best," Sullivan said. "Tasha and Tex are our point scorers. I just like playing defense as good as I can, as hard as I can." The stats tend to bear out Sullivan's assessment; Chihuly scores about 20 points a game while Tasha knocks down an average of 12 points per a game. Sullivan scores about five points per game, but contributes with several rebounds and steals every time out. "Our press works really well," Sullivan said. "We're quick, and the team plays so well together. We know how everybody's going to play, and where everybody's spot is." Part of being able to play at 100 miles per hour is knowing your teammates, the other part is understanding the system, and Coach Leman has a game plan in place that caters to individual strengths. Tasha generally handles the ball at the point, while Chihuly's ability to find a seam in the defense and put up athletic shots in the paint make her the prime beneficiary of Tasha's passes. The team can key off of Sullivan for defensive intensity. "Dan knows how to set things up for us," Sullivan said. Juggling roles as coach and father wasn't always easy for Dan, who admits he was a little harder on Tasha during her first couple of seasons with the team than he was on other players. "The thing about Dan is, he does get mad at us and sometimes, the ones he vents it on are his daughters," Chihuly said. "I usually ignore it," Tasha said. "At times, it's tough, but I wouldn't choose anyone else to be my coach." "At some point, you realize that you're missing out on too much as a dad," Dan said. "Her game has improved so much over the past two years." The Wolverines are hoping that individual improvement translates into team improvement as they prepare for the state tournament. After winning the state 2A title in 1997, Ninilchik finished third in 1998 and as the runner-up last season. Indeed, if they do win it all, it will be because of leadership provided by the seniors. "Dan told us at the beginning of the year that we needed to step up our leadership," Chihuly said. Their glory days won't end with the state tournament, though. All three have started making college plans for next fall. Chihuly said she would likely take advantage of Alaska's scholarship program for the top two students in class rank in each graduating class and attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "She's a genius," Tasha said of Chihuly. "It took me awhile to buckle down. I finally realized how important it was." Tasha said she is planning to attend Southwestern Oregon, while Sullivan would like to pursue a degree in industrial welding at Chuesta College in California. There's plenty to do in the meantime. Tasha will help her dad and her mom, Jamie, with the family's commercial fishing business this summer, while Chihuly will work with her parents, Mike and Shirley, with the family charter fishing business, Chihuly's Charters. Sullivan's father Robbie works as a carpenter, while her mother, Teresa, drives a school bus. Sullivan spends her summers working in the fishing industry, though at the other end of the line, literally, from the Chihulys and Lemans, working on a slime line at Deep Creek Custom Packing. That work ethic off the court is no different than what they give every day on the court. "They're not just good basketball players, they're good athletes, well rounded," Dan said. "They're honor students across the board. "They're real good about working with the younger players, making sure the freshmen understand the philosophy. Kids can hear it from the coach, but I think they get more out of it when they hear it from a teammate. They pass along what it means to play here, how to work hard, what it means to be a state champion and how to get there." Discuss this story in our Discussion Forum Comments or questions? Contact the web master at Peninsula Clarion Copyrighted by Peninsula Clarion, a Division of Morris Communications Privacy and terms of use. Search text: Ninilchik Lady Wolverines 7/100
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