Knights survive late rally, top WHS

PALMER — Colony head coach Tom Lincoln couldn’t find anyone to give the game ball to following his team’s 43-36 Northern Lights Conference win over the Wasilla Warriors on Tuesday.

It’s not because the first-year head coach couldn’t find anyone who was deserving.

He simply thought everyone was.

“It was a complete team effort,” Lincoln said of the win, which pushed the Knights to 5-1 in conference play. “Everyone knew what they had to do. Everyone did their job.”

The Knights, who led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, survived a late Wasilla rally to claim the victory. The relentless Warriors chewed that double-digit deficit down to as few as four points. But the Knights were able to stay strong enough to hold on for the seven-point victory.

Lincoln wasn’t surprised Wasilla (2-2 in NLC play) was able to rally from a significant deficit. He actually expected it.

“We practiced it the day before in practice,” Lincoln said. “We put the kids in those situations.”

After junior Kaitlyn Klapperich hit a pair of free throws late in the third quarter to give Colony the commanding 34-19 lead, Wasilla used a 13-2 run to cut the Knights’ advantage to four points.

Wasilla used the defensive pressure of veterans such as seniors Carlee Naczi and Skyler Nuss to create extra opportunities, and the Warriors were able to do just enough on offense to get back into the game.

“We started panicking instated of stepping up and doing what we were supposed to do,” Lincoln said.

Freshman Mary Klapperich went to the basket to give the Knights the 38-32 lead at the three-minute mark, and Colony hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to ice the win.

Sophomore Alyssa Hutchins sparked the Knights midway through the third to give Colony its biggest lead of the game. Hutchins nailed a pair of three points, and hit a free throw to go on a seven-point run by herself.

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