ACS defeats Wasilla at Doc Larson Roundball Classic

WASILLA — The Anchorage Christian Lions girls defeated the Wasilla Warriors 68-35 on Thursday at the Doc Larson Roundball Classic at Wasilla High School. Behind a stifling defense and the dazzling dribbles of Sayvie Sellers, ACS was able to hand Wasilla a loss on their home court.

“I’m proud as a coach. They did a great job,” said ACS head coach Chad Dyson.

Missing a handful of regular starters, the Warriors struggled to find a rhythm on offense. Wasilla was held scoreless for the first half of the first quarter as ACS opened the game in a full-court press, generating much of their offense with overwhelming defense.

“I knew it was coming. I knew they would man to man or trap full court. I expected it for 32 minutes but he went down and tried some halfcourt stuff and they played some three quarter court stuff, working on his stuff. They’re going to be tough, I don’t know who’s going to beat them this year,” said Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax.

The Warriors went on a quick run in the first quarter, countering the ACS attack with a defensive display of their own. Down 7-0, Warriors senior guard Harmony McSorely hit a three-pointer to get Wasilla on the board. Junior guard Jazlynn Novelli then stole the ball and ran the length of the floor for an easy layup and followed that with a three-pointer on the next possession, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. While Novelli gave Wasilla a one point lead near the end of the first quarter, ACS would take the game over from that point, holding Wasilla scoreless again for nearly an entire quarter of play from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter. The Lions held the Warriors to 15 percent field goal shooting in the first half and prevented the Warriors from scoring double-digit points in three of the four quarters, marking their highest lead at 37 points. Leading the attack on defense for ACS was freshman guard Sayvia Sellers, who tallied 10 of the Lions 21 steals. Sellers finished with 24 points and Destiny Reimers added 22 points and nine rebounds.

“We’ve got a few kids we’ve got to get into 32 minute basketball game shape so hopefully we’re going to have that happen by March,” said Hebert-Truax. “I thought my kids did a very good job. I thought we did a good job breaking their press in the first half.”

The Warriors continued to play their tough brand of defense on ACS, despite the difficulties on the offensive end of the floor. The Warriors prevented ACS from Novelli scored 10 points and McSorely led all Warriors scorers with 13 points. McSorely was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line and added seven rebounds.

“Harmony McSorely is kind of my leader. She did some scoring, she got a few rebounds here and there but for 32 minutes. That girl works all the time,” said Hebert-Truax.

Colony boys win

Patrick McMahon continued his great start to the 2019-20 season, using a double-double to lead the Knights to a 59-50 win over Doherty High School, a team from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

McMahon finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Wyatt Baker and Jeremiah Hursrud just missed double-doubles. Baker had 10 points and nine rebounds. Hersrud finished with 15 points and eight assists.

Wasilla boys get a win; girls fall short, 50-49

The Wasilla boys scored a big win over Mt. Bethel, a Georgia team, Friday. The Warriors held on for a 42-41 win. The Wasilla girls suffered a 50-49 loss to Forest Grove, a team from Oregon on Friday. Complete results were not available prior to press time. For more on the tourney, see the Wednesday edition of the Frontiersman.