PREP BASKETBALL: Solid season

Eagles end with 23-14 record, placing third in the division

jim konst/special to vIEWBoulder City High School senior Jalexys Hernandez, left, runs past a Pahrump High School defender on her way to scoring. Hernandez played point guard for the Lady Eagles most of the year. Advertisement

The varsity Lady Eagles basketball team may not have made it back to the state championship tournament this year for head coach Lisa Corbit, but they had a solid season with a 23-14 record and were an exciting team to watch.

Boulder City finished in third place in the Southern Class 3A Division with a 4-4 league record, and battled with the Faith Lutheran Crusaders in the first round of the 2007 NIAA Class 3A Southern League Girls Basketball Playoffs at Del Sol High School on Feb. 15.

The Lady Eagles led most of the game, and were ahead at half-time, 16-10. However, two of Boulder City's leading scorers got into foul trouble early in the second half, and the Crusaders took advantage of the situation. The final score was 43-38, and the Lady Eagles were finished for the 2006-2007 girls basketball season.

Senior Noelle Milicic led all scorers with 16 points, and was everywhere on the court. Sophomore sensation Caiti Forrester added 12 points, senior Katie Palmer eight and freshman Jessi Forrester two.

The Pahrump Valley Trojans won the division championship tournament, and were crowned the 2006-2007 Southern Class 3A Division Champions.

"We just didn't play to our potential as a team," Corbit said.

Milicic had her best game of the season in Boulder City's victory over the Virgin Valley Bulldogs, Jan. 19, which cemented the Lady Eagles' third place position. She scored 28 points.

Caiti Forrester added 12 points in the victory over the Bulldogs, Palmer six, senior Jalexys Hernandez four, and Jessi Forrester and junior Brooke Lawrence two.

"Noelle Milicic really stepped up for us this year," Corbit added. "She came into the season with a lot of club ball experience over the summer, and had really improved over last year. Noelle became our scoring threat from the floor, and deserved her MVP honors for the league. She has a lot of potential to play well in college, and a number of colleges have been contacting me about her, including Pepperdine and the University of Wyoming."

Milicic was named the 2006-2007 Most Valuable Player for the Southern Class 3A Division, Caiti Forrester earned First Team All-Division honors, Palmer Second Team recognition, and senior Chelsea Stemmer Honorable Mention.

Even though the Lady Eagles didn't make it to the state championships this year, Milicic also received 2006-2007 First Team All State honors, Caiti Forrester was named to the Second Team, and Palmer earned Honorable Mention.

The girls worked very hard on their basketball skills all throughout the summer, and competed in a number of tournaments and leagues to prepare for the 2006-2007 season. It showed in the play of several of the Lady Eagles, and one or two of them hope to go on to play basketball in college.

Seniors Sam Mackley or Hernandez started at point guard for Boulder City this year. Caiti Forrester anchored down the post position, and Palmer and Milicic were the high-scoring wings. Stemmer at post or junior Alyssa Gutschick at wing rounded out the starting five depending on who the opponent was.

The other members of the team were freshmen Melissa Stewart and Paxton Fleming.

"Our three freshmen players -- Jessi Forrester, Melissa Stewart and Paxton Fleming -- were our most improved players this season," Corbit said. "Even though they knew they wouldn't be the stars now, they worked hard all year long, and gave 100 percent whenever they were in the game."

The captains for this year's Boulder City varsity girls team were Palmer and Caiti Forrester.

Milicic led the Lady Eagles in scoring for the 2006-2007 season with an average of 15.6 points. Caiti Forrester was right behind her with 14 points per game, and Palmer was third with an average of 8 points.

Palmer was the best playmaker on the team with 35 assists on the season, Caiti Forrester second with 29 assists, and Milicic third with 26 assists.

Milicic used her height to dominate the boards for Boulder City with 203 rebounds on the year. Caiti Forrester hustled for 183 rebounds, and Palmer added another 141 rebounds.

Palmer's speed and quickness helped her to lead the team in steals on defense with 69. Milicic had 48 steals, and Caiti Forrester added 40.

Cathy Meyer returned as the assistant varsity coach this year, and long-time junior varsity coach Robin Coppola led her squad again this season.

The members of the talented 2006-2007 Lady Eagles junior varsity team were: juniors Morgan Jarvis, Lena Marschall and Ashley Rogers; sophomores Blake Barletta, Stephanie Boyle, Elise Smith, Calandra Stanton, Ashley Vince and Teri Yesh; and freshmen Hannah Inman and Rachel Moody.

Sophomore Tracie Berry; and freshmen Alexas Cota, Taylor Fisher, Avery Gnapp, Alexis Jorgensen, Kiley Kreger, Malorie Morrill, Lindsey Meyers, Jenna Rassuchine, Megan Snyder, Bridget Ward and Alyx Yaro made up the 2006-2007 Boulder City High School B-team squad.

"We only have one returning starter for next year," Corbit added, "so it's gonna take a lot of work and be a young team for 2007-2008."