State hoops: Lynx escape with win over Colony

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

ANCHORAGE - Dimond didn't take the lead until the first possession of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Colony, it was a lead the Lynx would not relinquish.

Dimond used an 8-2 run early in the fourth to move past Colony and escape with a 50-46 win over the Knights in the first round of the Alaska Schools Activities Association 4A state tournament at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage on Wednesday.

Colony led for the first three quarters of play, but Dimond's significant advantage in size became more apparent in the final period, and the Lynx were able to muscle past the Knights.

&#8220We told our kids you really can't muscle them,” Colony head coach Don Witzel said. &#8220We were asking them to be quick, and keep moving around.”

Three of Dimond's five starters stand at 6-foot-1, while Colony's tallest player is 5-10. Witzel said the one person that could out-muscle some of Dimond's larger bodies is senior forward Sarah Walsh. But Walsh suffered a torn ligament in her knee the week before the tournament, and is lost for the season.

Dimond's three towers in the post combined for 32 points and 27 rebounds. Center Shaina Afoa had 17 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked shots by herself.

&#8220They had a couple of mismatches they took advantage of,” Witzel said. &#8220They were putting four kids in with pretty good size. (Samoana Ingram) is a big kid playing on the perimeter. She was able to take Haley (Hotchkiss) and Jackie (Hamann) and post them up.”

Lined up against the Colony guards, Ingram, a 5-10 freshman, scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. She posted four points during Dimond's key 8-2 run in the fourth.

Sparked by a Hotchkiss three-pointer, Colony held a significant lead for virtually the entire first quarter.

&#8220We came out and played the game we wanted to play in the beginning,” said Witzel, who made his 13th-straight trip to the state tournament. &#8220I'm really pleased. It's not like we played a bad game.”

Freshman Allie Grazulis led the Knights with 12 points. Fellow freshman led Colony in the paint with eight rebounds. Senior Kelcy Joynt recorded six points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The loss set up a second-round meeting with Northern Lights Conference rival Homer. The Knights and Mariners met twice this season with Colony taking the regular season battle, and Homer winning in the semifinals of the region tournament.

&#8220The thing that hurt us most (in the loss to Homer) was their big girl inside (forward Allison Horazdovsky),” Witzel said. &#8220They played very solid basketball. They were able to get her in deep.”

With a win over Homer, Colony can move into the bracket's fourth-place game.

In other first-round action, top seed Juneau-Douglas beat Homer 56-36. Second-seed Wasilla edged East Anchorage 39-36. And North Pole topped Service 42-34.

Dimond 50, Colony 46

Wednesday, Sullivan Arena

Dimond (50): Liggon 1 0-0 2, Eduarte 1 1-4 3, Hinshaw 5 0-0 10, Savage 0 0-0 0, Aa. Afoa 2 1-4 5, Sh. Afoa 7 3-7 17, Weingartner 0 0-0 0, Ingram 5 3-4 13, Totals 21 8-19 50.

Colony (46): Hamann 3 0-0 6, Joynt 3 0-0 6, Hotchkiss 2 2-2 8, Christensen 1 0-0 2, Grazulis 3 6-10 12, Class 4 0-0 8, Larson 2 0-0 4, Totals 18 8-12 46.

Three-point field goals: Dimond- none, Colony- Hotchkiss 2; Fouled out: Dimond- Hinshaw, Colony- none; Rebounds: Dimond 44 (Sh. Afoa 19), Colony- 34 (Larson 8); Steals: Dimond- 6 (Sh. Afoa 2), Colony- 12 ( Grazulis 3, Joynt 3).