Retiring teacher, coach urges Colony grads to ‘find their 68’
By Jeremiah Bartz Frontiersman.com A football coach using a hockey reference as the centerpiece for his keynote address may
2 min read
Feb. 18, 2007
By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman
WASILLA - Allie Grazulis and Alex Coon combined for 37 points as the Colony girls basketball team completed a two-game sweep of the Kodiak Bears Saturday at Colony High School.
Colony won going away Saturday, outscoring the Bears 22-11 in the fourth quarter to cruise to a 61-42 win.
Despite the big scoring games from the two Colony forwards, the Colony defense was the real story. The Knights forced 21 Kodiak turnovers Saturday and held the Bears to just 35 percent shooting from the field.
“I'm really pleased with the past two days, especially our defensive effort,” Colony head coach Don Witzel said following Saturday's game.
Colony started out slow Saturday afternoon, posting just five points in the first quarter. Kodiak took a brief 6-5 lead early in the second quarter before Colony finished out the half on a 18-9 run behind six points each from Grazulis and Coon.
Haylee Hotchkiss also reached double figures for the Knights, pouring in 12 points. Jackie Hamann added six points and a number of key defensive plays that had Witzel raving after the game.
“She had her best game overall of the season tonight,” Witzel said of the sophomore guard.
Colony eventually built a 12-point lead in the fourth before Kodiak cut the lead to six points midway through the quarter. The Knights then dominated down the stretch, outscoring Kodiak 15-4 over the final five minutes to ice the win.
Kodiak's Alysa Horn led the Bears with 11 points.
In Friday's game, Grazulis, Coon and Hotchkiss were again the story, combining for 46 of Colony's 54 points in the Knights' 54-46 win.
While Grazulis and Coon did most of their damage down low in the paint, Hotchkiss was hot from outside, draining four three-point baskets on her way to scoring 14 points.
Witzel said picking up the sweep over Kodiak was important not just because it gave Colony two Northern Lights Conference wins, but also because he's trying to get his team in top shape for the conference tournament, which is only three weeks away.
“This is training for the tournament time, definitely,” he said.
Although his team still has some work to do before they're ready to head into the postseason, Witzel said he's pleased with where the Knights are at this point.
“We're coming along,” he said.
Contact Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.
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