Senior comes through for boys, girls cruise as Wasilla sweeps Palmer

WASILLA — Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen has paid close attention to the Palmer Moose this season.

After watching Palmer several times, Engebretsen had a special game plan for his team’s first meeting against the Moose since Wasilla fell to Palmer in the 2016 Northern Lights Conference championship game. That plan centered, in part, around senior Isaac Houck.

And after a slow start, Houck came through for Engebretsen and the Warriors. Houck scored a dozen of his team-high 16 points in the second half to help Wasilla earn a 60-53 win over Palmer Tuesday night at Palmer High School.

“He came up huge,” Engebretsen said. “He had a tremendous second half.”

After early foul trouble forced Houck to the bench after four first-quarter points, Houck emerged with 12 in the second half, scoring six in each of the final quarters. Engebretsen said Houck’s ability to fight through adversity is key.

“He’s probably one of the most dependable guys I’ve ever coached,” Engebretsen said. “He’s pretty resilient. He can come out and make a couple of errors, and I know he’s not going to go anywhere. He’s going to give me everything he’s got.”

Engebretsen said Houck’s play allowed Wasilla to have success with its game plan, which included Houck attacking the basket from the high post.

“(Palmer) is very well coached. They compete, get after it,” Engebretsen said. “I wanted to try to expose a couple of little things I kind of felt like we can take advantage of. Put certain personnel in spots that could be a big advantage for us.”

Reilly Devine also came up big for the Warriors in the second half, scoring 10 of his 13 in the final two quarters. Daniel Headdings hit a trio of three pointers and matched Houck’s team-high 16.

The work of the Warriors in the second half helped Wasilla get the win despite a big night from Palmer’s Clayton Southwick. The junior scored a game-high 30 in the loss. Southwick scored 17 in the second half. Palmer senior Payton Martin hit four three-pointers, and scored 14 for the Moose.

“Their first four or five dudes are good,” Engebretsen said of the Moose. “Payton is playing well this year. Clayton is obviously a very, very good basketball player. Donovan (Eiman) is a big basketball player you’ve got to contend with.”

Southwick finished with 10 field goals and was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. The 6-foot-7 junior hit a three-pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first half to cut Wasilla’s lead to 27-26. In the second half, Southwick hit shots on at least three different points to bring the Moose within two possessions.

Warrior girls cruise past Moose

The Wasilla girls jumped to a quick lead, and never looked back.

The defending 4A state champions — sparked by a 29-8 first-quarter run and 50 first-half points — scored an 83-44 win over rival Palmer at Palmer High School Tuesday night.

McKenna Dinkel led four Warriors in double digits with a game-best 22. The senior was 8 of 12 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Azlynn Brandenburg added 17, with 15 coming in the first half. Olivia Davies finished with 13, and Catherine Baham added 10.

Lorna Suaava led Palmer eight 10 points.

Wasilla boys 60, Palmer 53

Tuesday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 11-16-18-15—60

Palmer 11-15-13-14—53

Wasilla (60) — Brown 1 2-4 4, Headdings 5 3-4 16, R. Devine 6 1-2 13, Fife 2 0-0 4, I. Houck 6 4-5 16, Milliron 0 2-2 2, L. Houck 2 0-0 5; Totals: 22 12-17 60.

Palmer (53) — Osiensky 0 2-3 2, Martin 4 2-2 14, Hawkins 1 1-2 3, Hughes-Duffy 2 0-0 4, Southwick 10 9-10 30; Totals: 17 15-17 53.

Wasilla girls 83, Palmer 44

Tuesday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 29-21-19-14—83

Palmer 8-11-18-7—44

Wasilla (83) — Davies 3 7-11 13, Drorbaugh 3 2-4 8, Obremski 1 0-0 2, Baham 4 1-2 10, Kelly 2 0-0 4, Brandenburg 8 0-0 17, Wheeler 0 1-2 1, Dinkel 8 6-7 22, Green 1 0-0 2, Titus 1 2-4 4; Totals: 31 19-30 83.

Palmer (44) — Petingill 0 1-2 1, Busbey 1 4-4 7, Bowman 3 1-2 8, Suavva 3 3-5 10, Uschmann 3 1-4 7, Alley 1 0-0 2, Dixon 4 1-4 9; Totals: 15 11-23 11.