Sophomore hits late shot to lead Warrior boys

SOLDOTNA — The Warriors needed two, but Dane Kuiper gave Wasilla three the hard way.

With Wasilla down by a pair during the final seconds, Wasilla's standout sophomore drained a long jump shot, drew a foul and hit the ensuing free throw to give Wasilla the 37-36 win over Soldotna at Soldotna High Saturday.

Kuiper hit a 17-foot jumper with 6.5 seconds left to tie the score at 36, and drew the foul in the process. He hi the free throw to give the four-time defending Northern Lights Conference champs the win.

Kuiper led all Warriors with 10 in the win.

In a rematch of the 2012 Northern Lights Conference championship game, the Wasilla Warriors came away with a 54-35 girls hoops win over Stars.

Alysha Devine scored a game-high 20 points for the two-time defending state champions. Alexis Imoe added a dozen as Wasilla handed SoHi its third NLC loss to a Valley team in as many days.

Devine scored half of her team’s points during Wasilla’s 14-point second quarter run. She added seven more in the third quarter.

Savannah Burke finished with eight in the win.

Friday, the Wasilla boys used a 21-point fourth quarter to earn a 49-41 win over the Kenai Kardinals at Kenai Central High School. Dane Kuiper led all scorers with 19 points, while Stone Krueger added a dozen for Wasilla.

Kyla Dinkel scored 17 to lead the Wasilla girls to a 54-20 win over Kenai. Alexis Imoe drained a trio of three-pointers and added 14 points.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.

Wasilla boys 49, Kenai 41

Friday, Kenai

Wasilla 9-8-11-21—49

Kenai 11-4-11-15—41

WASILLA (49) — Kuiper 5 8-8 19, Krueger 3 6-8 12, Hanson 2 2-7 6, Brown 1 0-0 2, Carney 1 1-2 3, Garnett 0 1-2 1, McGregor 1 0-0 2, Dawkins 1 2-3 4; Totals 14 20-30 49.

KENAI (41) — Spalding 5 8-16 18, Fitt 3 2-2 8, McKee 2 3-5 7, Battistelli 1 1-2 3, O’Neal 1 0-1 3, Liedes 1 0-0 2; Totals 13 14-26 41.

Wasilla girls 54, Kenai 20

Friday, Kenai

Wasilla 11-11-16-16—54

Kenai 5-4-2-9—20

WASILLA (54) — Dinkel 7 1-2 17, Imoe 4 3-5 14, A. Devine 3 4-5 11, Ford 1 0-0 3, Toews 1 0-2 2, Hutchins 1 3-3 5, Edwards 0 0-0 0, Burke 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 11-17 54.

KENAI (20) — Taylor 4 4-6 14, Ostrander 0 2-2 2, Ross 1 0-0 2, Every 1 0-0 2; Totals 6 6-8 20.

Wasilla girls 54, Soldotna 35

Saturday, Soldotna

Wasilla 9-14-20-11—54

Soldotna 4-6-14-11—35

Wasilla (54) — Ford 0 2-2 2, Imoe 3 3-6 12, A. Devine 9 7-9 20, Hutchins 3 0-0 6, Kinkel 1 4-6 6, Burke 4 0-5 8; Totals: 20 16-32 54.

Soldotna (35) — Benson 0 4-6 7, Kress 0 1-2 1, Litchfield 2 3-7 7, Kirkvliet 3 0-2 6, Westerman 2 0-1 4, Skjold 3 3-4 10; Totals: 10 11-22 35.