Colony girls score win over Moose in semis

WASILLA — Last week, the Palmer Moose scored a 57-52 victory over Colony, their first win over the Knights since 2014. Since, there has been a focal point in the conversation within the Colony huddle.

Defense.

And things went a bit differently when the teams met again in the region tournament. Colony held Palmer to just 24 percent shooting and scored a 48-36 win over the Moose during the Northern Lights Conference Championships girls’ semifinals Friday afternoon at Wasilla High School.

“We talked about defense. You can’t give up 57 points and ever expect to win a basketball game, not at this level,” Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said after the win.

Colony senior Haylee Duguid led the effort defensively, helping to slow down Palmer’s guards.

“She put the lockdown. I told her what her job was, and she went out and did it,” Bowker said of Duguid.

Palmer was able to stay within reach throughout, but Colony didn’t allow the Moose to put together the go-ahead run like they did a week ago.

“It seems like we’d go up by eight or 10, and then there it is, it’s five or six again,” Bowker said.

But Bowker praised his team for not allowing the Moose to cut further into Colony’s lead.

“Palmer never gave up, they kept coming at you,” Bowker said. “But then we’d have an answer for them.”

Senior Alex Carlton also used a big third quarter to help the Knights stay on top. Carlton scored 10 of her 16 points in the third.

“Alex was good,” Bowker said.

The win marked Colony’s second straight big victory over a Valley rival since falling to the Moose March 2. A day after the loss to Palmer, Colony rebounded with a 53-35 victory over Wasilla, its first win over the Warriors since 2015, on the final day of the regular season.

“A week ago we were pretty low. Since then we’ve had an opportunity to play our Valley rivals and play well in two games,” Bowker said. “That’s where we want to be.”

Colony will meet Wasilla again in the NLC girls final Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Wasilla High. The second-seeded Knights also earned another trip to the state tournament with the win over the Moose. Palmer will play Kenai in the bracket’s third-place game Saturday at noon.

In addition to Carlton’s 16, senior Amanda Smith added 10 for the Knights. Senior Ella Smith finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Senior Julie Benshetler led the Moose with 16.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com

Colony 48, Palmer 36

NLC girls semifinals

Friday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 6-10-13-7—36

Colony 12-12-11-13—48

Palmer (36) — Busbey 3 0-2 6, Pettingill 0 1-2 1, Uschmann 1 0-0 2, Bowman 2 0-0 6, Giese 4 8-10 16, Alley 1 1-3 3; Totals: 12 10-18 36.

Colony (48) — Hay. Duguid 0 1-4 1, A. Smith 2 4-6 10, Kenley 2 0-2 4, Bull 2 0-2 4, Schwantes 2 0-1 4, Carlton 4 6-6 16, E. Smith 1 7-7 9; Totals: 13 18-28 48.

3-point field goals: Palmer 2 (Bowman 2), Colony 4 (Carlton, A. Smith 2); Total fouls: Palmer 23, Colony 13.