Half a second shy

WASILLA — It took about a half-second to preserve a winning streak that is nearly 7 years old.

After Wasilla freshman Celeste Colegrove sank a short bank shot to break a 40-40 tie with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, the Palmer Moose had one more opportunity to be the spoilers.

Palmer junior guard Kelsey Campbell drained a three-pointer at the end of the fourth quarter, but on court officials ruled Campbell did not get her shot off before time expired and Wasilla walked off their home court with a thrilling 42-40 win over the Moose at Wasilla High School on Wednesday.

The victory extended the Warriors’ Northern Lights Conference winning streak to 93 games, a feat that dates back to Feb. 16, 2001.

With the score tied 40-40 and seconds ticking off the fourth-quarter clock, Wasilla junior Jenna Johnson drove the ball toward the Warrior basket. Surrounded by three Palmer players and her back to the basket, Johnson had the ball knocked out of her hands. The ball rolled away from the action, and right to Colegrove, who stood near the baseline on the far side of the basket.

“I thought, ‘oh no, is it going to keep rolling to me?” Colegrove said after the win.

The ball did roll to Colegrove, and the freshman quickly picked it up and drained the short attempt to give the Warriors the lead.

Palmer used the final 10 seconds of the contest on its final opportunity. Moose points guard Mattie Cox drove the ball down the court, and pressured by two defenders at the top of the arc, Cox pushed the ball over to junior Mikaela Bolling, who stood behind the right side of the three point line. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Bolling sent the ball across the court to Campbell, who stood alone at the left side.

“She got the open look,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said. “Unfortunately about a half a second too late.”

For a brief moment after Campbell hit her shot, both teams didn’t know whether to celebrate of concede. Players looked at each other, coaches stood still and the once raucous Wasilla High crowd become eerily silent.

Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said she saw the clock read 0.6 before Campbell let go of her attempt. Reid said he had an idea the shot was late, but what caught him off guard was the fact the officials didn’t signal right away.

“Usually they’re waving their arms,” Reid said.

Campbell and the Moose were simply about a half-second late, which left Colegrove as the hero for the night.

While Colegrove’s game-winning shot looked routine for the young forward, Colegrove said it’s normally not a given for her to hit those attempts from the side of the basket.

“Usually it’s not,” Colegrove said. “Usually I have to work on those.”

Hebert-Truax, who called time-out with the score tied at 34 seconds remaining, said she actually intended for Colegrove to take that final shot.

“The play was designed for her, just not quite that way,” Hebert-Truax said with a smile.

Hebert-Truax said the plan was for Colegrove to take the final shot off the block.

“I did it wrong, but it came to me anyway,” Colegrove said.

Colegrove, one of two freshman starters and four underclassmen who see a tremendous amount of minutes for the Warriors, scored a game-high 13 points in the game.

Eleven of her points came in the second half, and she scored six in the fourth quarter. Colegrove as also 5-for-7 from the free throw line.

“She’s one of our best free-throw shooters,” Hebert-Truax said.

The Warriors, who led for virtually all of the first three quarters, needed to use the late comeback to secure the victory.

With 1:05 left in the third quarter, Palmer senior Ashley Swetzof sank a pair of free throws to give the Moose the 30-29 advantage, their first lead of the game.

Palmer extended it’s lead to six with a Swetzof lay-up midway through the quarter, but the Warriors marched back into the game with a 6-0 run.

Colegrove hit a pair of free throws to cut the Moose lead to four, and Johnson scored six of her game-high 13 points in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.

Johnson hit a baseline jumper with 1:23 left to give Wasilla the temporary 40-38 lead, but Swetzof hit a shot of her own to tie the score just after the clock hit the 1-minute mark.

Even though the Moose were handed the loss, Reid said he was proud of how his team played in the second half. Reid said during halftime he spoke to his players about trying to get the second opportunity and being more patient on offense.

Also key for the Moose, was the play of Swetzof inside. The senior, who can score from both the perimeter and in the paint, was a force on the glass against the Warriors, and scored a team-high 13.

“She’s got great footwork down there,” Reid said. “It doesn’t matter if she’s taking on someone 6-foot-4 or a quicker forward at 5-9 or 5-10. I’m trying to get her to take on that role more.”

Senior guard Mattie Cox also scored 10 points for the Moose. Palmer’s top two scoring threats for outside — Campbell and Bolling — were held to six points.

Hebert-Truax said that was key for the Warriors.

“I had Shelby (Fulton) and Jenna on their two top three-point shooters,” Hebert-Truax said. “I told them just don’t let them get it off.”

Wasilla 42, Palmer 40

Wednesday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 6-11-15-8—40

Wasilla 9-11-9-13—42

Palmer (40) — Swetzof 5 3-4 13, Campbell 1 0-0 3, Mangelsdorf 1 1-2 3, Cox 5 0-0 10, Bolling 2 0-0 5, Ratcliff 3 0-1 6; Totals 17 4-7 40.

Wasilla (42) — Fulton 2 0-2 5, Nuss 1 0-0 2, Maczi 0 2-4 2, Johnson 4 4-6 13, Troisi 0 1-2 1, Colegrove 4 5-7 13, Cottle 2 2-4 6; Totals: 13 14-25 42.

Three-point field goals: Palmer 2 (Bolling, Campbell), Wasilla 2 (Fulton, Johnson); Total fouls: Palmer 16, Wasilla 12.