Snapped

WASILLA — Within a 24-hour stretch, Don Witzel saw his Colony Knights play on both sides of the basketball spectrum.

On Friday, the Knights were victims of a few bad bounces, struggled through a rough fourth quarter and ultimately suffered a four-point defeat to Palmer.

But on Saturday, the Knights’ fourth-quarter effort was nearly flawless and Colony scored a 66-47 win over the Wasilla Warriors at Wasilla High School, a victory that snapped Wasilla’s 100-game winning streak against Northern Lights Conference competition.

“It’s a good way to finish off the regular season,” Witzel, Colony’s longtime head coach, said after the win. “Whether or not we were looking ahead to this game, we didn’t play our best basketball last night. We came out and played pretty well tonight.”

Colony headed into the final weekend of regular season play with a 7-1 conference record. With only one loss in NLC play, the Knights had the potential to finish on top of the NLC’s Northern Division with wins over Valley rivals Palmer and Wasilla.

Colony had beaten Palmer twice before this season before falling to the Moose on Friday.

“I don’t want to say we were overconfident going into it,” Witzel said, referring to Friday’s affair. “We certainly didn’t have the intensity we needed to win that game.”

But Saturday was certainly Colony’s night.

“In a way last night was kind of the opposite,” Witzel said.

The Knights were 7-of-7 from the field during a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter of the win over the Warriors, and Colony scored 26 points during the final frame to hand Wasilla its first loss to a conference rival since Feb. 13, 2001. A Witzel-led Colony team also happened to be the one to beat Wasilla on that day in 2001.

The Knights led by just three points, 40-37, during the opening moments of the fourth quarter, but held a 19-point advantage once the final buzzer sounded.

“They played great, and in the fourth quarter I don’t think they missed a shot,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

Witzel specifically pointed out the play of junior guard Jackie Hamann during the fourth quarter.

“Jackie Hamann hit some big shots for us,” Witzel said.

Hamann, one of four Knights to finish in double digits, scored 10 of her 12 points during the final period. A Hamann lay-up gave the Knights a 42-37 lead early in the quarter and sparked an 8-2 run. Hamann buried a six-foot jumper to give the Knights the 11-point lead midway through the fourth and she hit another jump shot with three minutes left.

Hamann was also key at the free-throw line, hitting all four of her attempts from the stripe in the final three minutes.

Led by Hamann, free-throw shooting proved to be crucial for the Knights in the final period. Colony finished the fourth 10-of-16 from the line.

“We were fouling them and they were hitting their free throws,” Hebert-Truax said.

Junior Allie Grazulis, who scored 13 in the game, was 4-of-8 from the line in the final period.

Before Colony’s fourth-quarter surge, the Valley rivals played in a close match for most of the first three quarters. Hebert-Truax said for the most part, the Warriors pretty much played to their game plan.

“I think we got our opportunities,” Hebert-Truax said. “We missed quite a few shots.”

Junior Jenna Johnson scored a game-high 26 for Wasilla, including seven of Wasilla’s nine points in the third quarter. Johnson also scored six of her team’s 10 points in the fourth.

Although Johnson was the only Wasilla player to hit double digits, Witzel said the defensive game plan does not necessarily center around stopping Johnson.

“We concentrated more on our game rather than focus on one player,” Witzel said. “We know she’s a great player, and she’s going to get some points.”

With the win Colony improved to 8-2 in NLC play, and is the No. 2 seed in the NLC’s Northern Division. Regardless of the outcome of this contest, Wasilla had the No. 1 seed locked up, thanks to Palmer’s win over Colony on Friday.

The Warriors finish the regular season 9-1, and are the top team in the Northern Division as teams now prepare for the upcoming NLC Championships which are slated to start Thursday at Palmer High School.

In regards of the streak, Hebert-Truax was thrilled that her players helped the program reach the milestone of 100 straight wins against NLC competition last week against Kodiak.

You're talking to one proud coach," Wasilla mentor Jeannie Hebert-Truax said after the loss. "I told my players, they've accomplished something, they've been a part of something that no one in the state of Alaska has been a part of. They should be proud and hold their head high."

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

Colony 66, Wasilla 47

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Colony 17-15-8-26—66

Wasilla 13-13-9-12—47

Colony (66) — Hamann 3 6-6 12, Garrod 1 1-1 3, Hotchkiss 0 2-3 2, Ma. Bowker 3 0-0 7, Grazulis 4 4-8 13, Coon 6 3-4 15, Eisenhower 1 0-0 2, Larson 5 1-2 12.

Wasilla (47) — Fulton 1 7-8 9, Nuss 0 2-2 2, Johnson 10 4-4 26, Colegrove 1 4-6 6, Cottle 1 2-4 4.

Three-point field goals: Colony 2 (Ma. Bowker, Grazulis), Wasilla 2 (Johnson 2); Total fouls: Colony 20, Wasilla 20; Fouled out: Wasilla- Johnson, Nuss.