Colony, Wasilla move into 4A girls state semifinals with lopsided wins

A pair of Mat-Su girls basketball teams are moving forward. A trio of Valley boys squads suffered losses during the first day of the state tourney.

Colony and Wasilla, the top two seeds in the 4A girls bracket, each scored lopsided victories during the first day of the ASAA/First National Bank 3A/4A State Basketball Championships Wednesday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Wasilla and Palmer, in the 4A tourney, and 3A Houston dropped games on the first day.

Colony, the No. 1 seed in the 4A girls tourney, used big first and fourth quarters to run past eighth-seeded North Pole 62-33. The Knights started the game on an 18-3 run and opened the second half with a 23-5 third quarter.

Alycia Shelley shot 5 of 7 from behind the arc, and led Colony with 17 points. Hallie Clark hit four threes and scored 14. Tonya Karpow added a dozen points and eight rebounds.

Second-seeded Wasilla also won big, 47-22 over seventh-seeded Bartlett. The Warriors led 8-4 after the first and 22-15 at halftime. Wasilla outscored the Golden Bears 25-7 in the second half.

Mylee Anderson scored a game-high 20 points in the win. Layla Hays notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Colony and Wasilla are now in the 4A girls final four. The Knights play fourth-seeded Thunder Mountain Friday at 3:15 p.m. in the semifinals. Wasilla meets third-seed Mountain City Christian Friday at 4:45 p.m.

In the 4A boys bracket, second-seeded Service used a big third quarter to get past seventh-seeded Wasilla 55-41. The Warriors led 22-20 at the half, but the Cougars outscored Wasilla 35-19 in the second half.

Gavin Morris notched a double-double to lead the Warriors, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Noah Kroon added 10 points.

Top-seeded East Anchorage also used a big second half to beat a Valley team. The defending state champions outscored eighth-seeded Palmer 30-15 in the second half. East held a 25-21 lead at the break.

Logan Rolston led Palmer with 11 points.

Wasilla and Palmer will both play in the consolation semifinals. Wasilla will play third-seeded West Valley and the Moose meet fourth-seeded West Anchorage. Both games are Friday at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

In the 3A boys tourney, Nome beat Houston 55-39. James Taylor led the Hawks with 13 points. Noah Whitted added nine points and seven rebounds.

The Hawks face sixth-seeded Seward Thursday at noon in the consolation semifinals.

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