Defensive effort helps Warriors beat Moose in semis, advance to state tourney

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors notched only seven points in the third, but held Palmer scoreless in the quarter.

“Just enough offense, and a heck of a job on defense,” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said after the game.

That was pretty much the theme throughout the night for Wasilla, which worked to earn a tough 37-23 win over the rival Moose in the Northern Lights Conference Championships semifinals Friday night at Wasilla High School.

Palmer shot 9 of 38 from the field and 3 of 26 from beyond the arc in the loss.

“I’ll take that defensive effort any given night,” Engebretsen said.

Engebretsen lauded the work of senior Jordan Knight, who helped stifle the Moose, who feature one of the top players in Alaska at any level, senior Clayton Southwick.

“That kid deserves every kudo in the world,” Engebretsen said of Knight. “Just a stud.”

Junior Daniel Headdings led the Warriors on the offensive side, scoring 18, just about half of Wasilla’s total.

“Daniel has been that player all year long,” Engebretsen said.

Headdings hit all four Wasilla three-pointers. Sophomore Levi Houck added eight for Wasilla.

Isaac Atkins led the Moose with nine.

Second-seeded Wasilla moves ahead to face its other Valley rival, top-seeded Colony, in the NLC title game Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Wasilla High. Palmer meets Soldotna in the NLC third-place game Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Wasilla, the 2017 4A runner up, also earned another state tourney berth with the win.

Senior leads Moose to win

Palmer senior Clayton Southwick used his 30-point night to lead Palmer to a 44-27 win over Kenai during the Northern Lights Conference Championships boys’ quarterfinals Thursday night at Wasilla High School.

Sixth-seeded Kenai entered the tournament without an NLC win during the regular season. But Southwick said Kenai is not the typical 0-10 team.

“They’re a really good team. They lost a couple of close games, but they’re a really good team,” Southwick said after the victory.

Southwick scored 30 of his team’s 44 points in the win, including 20 of Palmer’s 22 in the first half. Southwick scored Palmer’s first seven of the game.

“It felt good to see the ball go in,” Southwick said of his start.

The senior hit 11 of his 16 shots from the floor, and was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Overall, Southwick said he felt the Moose moved the ball well on the offensive side of the floor.

“We played well on offense,” Southwick said.

And as always, defense was once again key for the Moose. Palmer held Kenai to 10 of 32 shooting, 3 of 16 from three-point range. Palmer also outrebounded Kenai 28-13.

Southwick was not the only playing wearing the number 32 who stood out Thursday. Kenai’s No. 32, senior Luke Beiser, scored 16 of his team’s 27.

“They’ve got a really good player,” Southwick said of Beiser. “He’s going to get his.”

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

Wasilla 37, Palmer 23

NLC boys semifinals

Friday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 7-8-0-10—23

Wasilla 9-11-7-10—37

Palmer (23) — Atkins 4 0-0 9, Hawkins 3 0-0 7, Southwick 1 0-0 2, Oviok 1 0-0 3, Cutright 0 2-2 2; Totals: 9 2-2 23.

Wasilla (37) — Knight 1 2-2 4, Houck 3 2-2 8, Headdings 5 4-6 18, R. Devine 2 0-0 4, Milliron 1 1-2 3; Totals: 12 9-13 37.

3-point field goals: Palmer 3 (3 tied with 1), Wasilla 4 (Headdings 4); Total fouls: Palmer 14, Wasilla 9.

Palmer 44, Kenai 27

NLC boys quarterfinals

Thursday, Wasilla High

Kenai 4-11-7-5—27

Palmer 13-9-14-8—44

Kenai (27) — Felchle 3 0-0 8, Beiser 6 4-4 16, Strende 1 0-0 3; Totals: 10 4-6 44.

Palmer (44) — Atkins 1 0-0 2, Titus 1 0-0 2, Hawkins 2 2-2 6, Rankin 1 0-0 2, Southwick 11 4-7 30, Oviok 1 0-0 2; Totals: 17 6-9 44.