Girls basketball: Another tough win for WHS

PALMER — If the seven-time defending Northern Lights Conference champion Wasilla Warriors learned one thing over the weekend, it’s winning an eighth-straight title isn’t going to be easy.

A night after using a late run to slip past Soldotna 44-36, the Warriors gutted out a 40-37 victory over the Palmer Moose at Palmer High School on Saturday.

“It was a good weekend for us, to play two good teams back-to-back; two close games,” a relieved Jeannie Hebert-Truax, Wasilla’s longtime head coach, said after Saturday’s win. “We’re going to have to play at least one of them — Soldotna, Colony or Palmer — to get where we want to go. There’s some good talent (in the conference).”

In a game the featured 11 lead changes in the first three quarters, Wasilla was able to hold the advantage for much of the fourth after junior all-state guard Jenna Johnson hit a wide-open three-pointer early in the final frame to break a 26-26 tie.

Once the Warriors got the advantage, all they had to do was hit their free throws.

And that’s what they did.

The Warriors finished a tolerable 19-of-26 from the free-throw line in the game. But in the fourth, Wasilla was clutch, hitting 8-of-10 attempts from the stripe.

“We’re not the greatest free-throw shooters, but we make them when they count,” Hebert-Truax said with a laugh.

Senior guard Shelby Fulton was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line in the final four minutes of the game.

Johnson led the Warriors with 13 points, while Fulton added 11 for WHS.

Even though the Warriors only managed 40 points in the defensive battle, Hebert-Truax was pleased with the effort simply because she threw a monkey wrench into the Warrior game plan shortly before the contest.

“I changed the offense in a moment’s time,” Hebert-Truax said. “And the kids executed it pretty well.”

Hebert-Truax said the tough defensive play the Moose have shown the season prompted her to make some changes in the plan. Knowing that Palmer packs some defensive punch, Hebert-Truax orchestrated a game plan to try to make it easy to get the ball out to the wing.

Senior Ashley Swetzof hit five shots in the paint, and led the Moose with 13 points in the loss. Swetzof hit key shots in the second half as the teams exchanged the lead in the see-saw battle.

Swetzof slashed to the basket and converted a lay-up early in the third to give the Moose the 18-17 lead. Late in the quarter, a Swetzof lay-up tied the score at 22.

Hebert-Truax said a key to the Warriors defense was the play of Wasilla freshman Celeste Colegrove against Swetzof, a versatile offensive weapon who can score both inside and out.

“She got some points,” Hebert-Truax said of the Palmer senior. “But she was battling all night for them.”

Hebert-Truax also noted the defensive play of sophomores Carlie Naczi and Skyler Nuss, who both helped Wasilla hold Palmer captain Mattie Cox to six points.

Palmer, a team that can be deadly with the outside shot, hit only two three-pointers in the game, but both were buzzer beaters. Unfortunately for the Moose, those buzzer beaters came in the first half.

Senior forward Amy Tzou hit a three from the top of the arc as the first-period buzzer sounded to give the Moose a 9-6 lead heading into the first break. Junior guard Mikaela Bolling fired a three with 1.6 seconds left in the second to put the Moose up 16-15 at the intermission.

Saturday’s game marked the second meeting of the season for the Valley rivals. Palmer nearly stunned the Warriors at Wasilla High in January. Palmer junior Kelsey Campbell buried a three-pointer, but the shot was released after the buzzer sounded and the Warriors escaped with a 42-40 win.

Trailing 38-35 on Saturday, the Moose had a chance to tie the game late in the contest. With 34 seconds remaining, the Moose marched the ball down the court and tried to set up the game-tying three-pointer, but inadvertently threw the ball out of bounds.

Saturday’s win also extended Wasilla’s NLC winning streak to 97 games. Wasilla (6-0 in NLC play) could hit 100 straight with a win over Kenai and a sweep of Kodiak later this month.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla 40, Palmer 37

Saturday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 6-9-11-14—40

Palmer 9-7-8-13—37

Wasilla (40) — Fulton 1 8-10 11, Nuss 2 2-3 6, Naczi 1 3-4 5, Johnson 4 3-3 13, Colegrove 1 2-4 4, Cottle 0 1-2 1; Totals: 9 19-26 40.

Palmer (37) — Swetzof 5 3-4 13, J. Cox 4 0-0 8, M. Cox 2 2-2 6, Bolling 3 0-0 7, Tzou 1 0-0 3; Totals: 15 5-6 37.

Three-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Johnson 2), Palmer 2 (Bolling, Tzou); Total fouls: Wasilla 12, Palmer 20; Fouled out: Palmer- Mangelsdorf.