Knight girls look for 12th straight

March 18, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman Sports Editor

At the beginning of the prep basketball season Don Witzel, longtime head coach of the Colony Knights girls' program, would have been the first to admit, this season could feature one the toughest roads to the state tournament during his historic tenure at CHS.

The Knights graduated five senior starters, including all-state forward Kristina Klapperich and all-region guard Siena Locke, and sport just three seniors on the 2004-05 roster.

But even lacking great experience, the Knights have found their roles, come together and fought to a 7-3 record in Northern Lights Conference play. The Knights trail only first-place Wasilla in the region, and earned the north division's second seed in the this weekend's region championship tournament at Soldotna High School, putting themselves in position to earn the Knights a 12th consecutive trip to the 4A ASAA state tournament.

Witzel said, looking at the region, he felt like his club could be competitive this season if the Knights played tough defense and found some way to score some points. With a group of players with little to no experience at the varsity level, Witzel and the CHS started by preaching the word of defense and looking for opportunities on the offensive end. Colony responded with an early season upset of then-ranked Lathrop and a lopsided victory over Palmer.

Colony ended the regular season by winning three of its last four, including a 53-43 win over Homer - a team Colony could see in the second round of the Region III tourney.

Witzel said, key to the Knights has been the performance of point guard Kelcy Joynt. The junior has averaged a team-high 15 points per game and is the catalyst for the Knights on the floor. Joynt missed time late in the season with the flu, but has returned for the Knights run for the state tourney.

A late-season change in the Knight line-up has also added to the success, Witzel said. Senior Joanna Spoth was move from the post to the wing, a position Witzel wanted her to play from the beginning.

"Kelsy Joynt is playing really well, Joanna Spoth has begun to play really well and everyone else has been more and more solid," Witzel said.

Witzel said freshman Jamie Christensen has also provided an extra scoring punch for the Warriors down the stretch.

Colony opened with Skyview and face either Homer or Kodiak in the second round of the tourney today. Results of the first round of tourney action were unavailable prior to press time.

Wasilla earned the top seed in the tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Warriors finished the regular season 18-2 and have not dropped a game since a Jan. 22 loss at Lathrop. The stingy Warrior defense is yet to give up more than 39 points in a conference game.

Wasilla, who opened with Kenai on Thursday, play either Soldotna or Palmer today.

Palmer enters the tourney with a 3-7 regular season Northern Lights Conference record. The Moose eared a series sweep over North Division rival Kodiak in January and upset Homer, the top team in the South Division, in February.

Paired with Soldotna in the first round, Palmer faces either Wasilla or Kenai today.

Colony earned the top seed in the boys' bracket with a 68-60 win over second-seeded Wasilla, last week at CHS. The Knights finished 9-1 in region play and are winners of 13 straight. Colony plays either Palmer or Kenai today.

Wasilla, also 9-1 in Region III play, is on the bottom half of the bracket and will face either Soldotna or Kodiak today.

Palmer, 4-6, faces either Colony or Homer today.

Hoops poll

The Wasilla Warriors own the top spot in the latest 4A girls' basketball poll.

Wasilla earned the top spot in the state with six first-place votes and 54 total points.

Colony is ranked second in the 4A boys' poll. The Knights garnered one first-place vote and 45 total points.