Kodiak caps perfect season with win over quality Colony girls

ANCHORAGE — During his long career coaching basketball within the Colony Knights boys and girls basketball programs, Colony girls basketball coach Jeff Bowker has entered every season with similar philosophies and the same goals.

Bowker, who led the Colony boys to state title game appearances in 2005 and 2007, circles two dates on the calendar: the Saturday of the Northern Lights Conference Championships and the Saturday of the 4A state tournament. It’s the focus of the season to be playing in the final game, the tournament title match, on each one of those nights. Bowker’s Knights played in the final game of the 2014 ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Championships girls tournament Saturday. Even though his team fell short of the ultimate goal — a championship — Bowker was able to put his team’s 65-41 loss to Kodiak in perspective.

“When you set your goals at a certain spot in life and you fall short of those goals, we talk about this all the time, it’s far better to set them high and fall short here, than set them low and hit them every time,” Bowker said as he raised his hand into the air before lowering it toward the ground. “I’d much rather work with people who set them (high) and are in tears at the end, than people who set them low and are down here.”

The Knights shed those tears as they funneled into the locker room after the loss to their Northern Lights Conference rivals. After the postgame meeting with his team, Bowker praised his Knights.

“I told them it’s OK to be disappointed. Disappointment comes, but your coach is not disappointed in you,” Bowker said. “They’ve made great strides from the beginning of the season to where they are now.”

Kodiak beat Colony in a championship game for the second time in two weeks. Much like its win during the NLC title earlier this month, Kodiak used a second-quarter run to build a lead against the Knights. In the NLC title match, Colony led 17-9 after the first period, but Kodiak quickly erased the deficit in the second en route to the win, which notched Kodiak’s first NLC title since 1985. Saturday, Colony led 10-6 early, but Kodiak capped the first quarter with a 9-2 run. In the second quarter, after Colony pulled within two points, Kodiak exploded on a 10-0 run to take a 29-17 lead.

“They are a very good basketball team,” Bowker said. “That’s what I told the girls. They beat us today. They’re a better basketball team right now, tonight for sure. They had an answer for most things we tried to do.”

Kodiak, which shot 43 percent from the field and grabbed 13 steals, extended a double-digit halftime lead with a 32-11 third-quarter run. Bowker said he felt his players continued to play hard, despite the deficit.

“I got no sense that the girls gave up. We just got beat. We were still trying,” Bowker said.

Senior Izzy Tweed led Colony with 12 points in the loss. She also collected four rebounds and a pair of assists. Faith Farris added eight points, and Sarah Brumbaugh and Jennifer Solano chipped in six each. Solano also led the Knights with five rebounds.

Carissa Cannon led Kodiak with 21 points. Adrienne Horn scored 12. Jerica Nelson and Megan Pyles added 11 each for Kodiak. Hannah Wandersee posted a double-double, with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Kodiak capped an undefeated season with the win, and won its first state title since 1981.

Colony beat two of the top-3 seeds in the tournament en route to a title matchup with the top-ranked Bears. The Knights beat third-seeded East Anchorage on Thursday in the quarterfinals, and topped second-seeded West Anchorage 48-46 in overtime in Friday’s semifinal round. The Knights used those wins to advance to the state championship game for the eighth time in program history. Colony has won four girls basketball championships, the last in 2008.

Friday, a pair of juniors — Farris and Sarah Bonn — combined for three key free throws during the final 36 seconds of overtime to help the Knights beat West 48-46.

Colony scored seven of its nine overtime points from the free throw line. Farris opened the extra period with a steal and a layup to break the 39-39 tie. Farris was also 5 for 6 from the stripe during overtime.

Solano also hit a free throw in overtime.

Farris and Tweed scored a game-high 14 points each for the Knights. Solano added seven points and eight rebounds. Bonn finished with five points. Bonn also had one rebound, but it was one of Colony’s biggest rebounds of the game. With Colony leading by three, Bonn snagged an offensive rebound after a missed Colony free throw. She drew a foul, and followed with a free throw of her own. That free throw gave Colony the two-possession lead with 36 seconds left in overtime.

“They just competed as a team,” Bowker said of the Knights against West. “They weren’t terrific as individuals, but they did a great job as a team.”

Kodiak 65, Colony 41

4A girls title game

Saturday, Sullivan Arena

Colony 12-7-11-11—41

Kodiak 15-18-23-9—65

Colony (41) — Farris 4 0-0 8, Tweed 5 1-2 12, Stephens 1 1-2 3, Turcotte 1 0-0 2, Brumbaugh 3 0-0 6, Solano 2 2-2 6, Bonn 2 0-0 4; Totals: 18 4-6 41.

Kodiak (65) — Horn 4 2-2 12, Nelson 4 2-3 11, Cannon 10 1-1 21, Pyles 4 3-4 11, Wandersee 3 4-6 10; Totals: 25 12-16 65.

3-point field goals: Colony 1 (Tweed 1), Kodiak 3 (Horn 2); Total fouls: Colony 15, Kodiak 9.

Colony 48, West 46 OT

4A semifinals

Friday, Sullivan Arena