Kodiak girls score big NLC sweep

PALMER — The Colony girls dropped a pair of tough games this weekend to the Kodiak Bears. After a defensive battle on Friday that ended 36-30, the Knights dropped another heartbreaker 47-42 on Saturday at Colony High School.

Senior captain Mary Klapperich was held scoreless through the first half. Kodiak’s Hannah Wandersee and Klapperich matched up on each other, making offense scarce for both forwards.

Jerica Nelson, a former member of the Colony Knights, led the charge for Kodiak at the point guard position. Nelson zipped around the court and caused havoc on the defensive end, as well as striking with a quick crossover and driving through the Colony defense for contested layups at will. Nelson shot four free throws in the first quarter, as many as the entire Lady Knights team.

“Jerica’s a tough handle,” Colony head coach Jeff Bowker said of Nelson, who moved with her family to Kodiak after her sophomore season. “We wanted to deny her and wear her out a little bit. I thought Sarah Brumbaugh did a good job. She was in foul trouble most of the evening, but we were slow to help.”

Nelson finished with a game-high 17 points.

The Bears went on an 11-3 run to start the second quarter. Nelson and Carissa Cannon led the attack for Kodiak, combining for nine points in the quarter while running the Bears fast-paced attack.

Cannon scored 11 points for Kodiak.

Colony’s offense struggled, turning the ball over frequently. The defense struggled to keep Kodiak’s ball handlers in check and struggled to defend Kodiak’s low post presence. The Knights trailed at half 25-19.

Klapperich hit two straight layups to start the second half. After an Izzy Tweed three-pointer, the Knights trailed 26-29. Colony tightened the intensity on its pressure defense and forced their offensive tempo.

But foul trouble would hurt the Knights. Kodiak went 6 for 11 from the free throw line in the fourth. With Klapperich battling Wandersee, the Knights would need an offensive spark from somewhere else if they were to compete. Faith Farris and Tweed stole the ball and ran the fast break to score two buckets and cut the Kodiak lead to just two points early in the fourth quarter.

“Izzy’s been consistent all season. Defensively, she’s quick, she’s a real good outside shooter. She’s streaky but when she gets going she can really score,” Bowker said.

Another Farris fast break layup and a Jennifer Solano free throw made it even closer at 36-37. But the Bears made their free throws down the stretch and played tough defense to secure the victory.

Tweed led the Knights with 13 points. Faith Farris scored 11.

Colony falls to 6-6 on the season after dropping both Northern Lights Conference games to Kodiak. The Knights face Soldotna on Friday.

Kodiak 47, Colony 42

Saturday, Colony High School

Kodiak 8-17-10-12—47

Colony 11-8-9-14—42

Kodiak (47) — Nelson 4 9-12 17, Ng 2 2-2 6, Cannon 4 3-6 11, Pyles 3 0-0 6, Wandersee 2 3-6 7.

Colony (42) — Klapperich 3 1-2 8, Farris 5 1-1 11, Tweed 4 3-3 13, Turotte 2 0-0 4, Brumbaugh 0 1-2 1, Michaelson 1 0-0 2, Solano 0 3-4 3.