Sweet 100

WASILLA — It’s not often that a regular season game ends with confetti being sprinkled across the gymnasium floor.

But things tend to be different when history is made. With a 52-27 victory over the Kodiak Bears on Saturday at Wasilla High School, the Wasilla Warriors girls basketball squad earned their 100th consecutive victory over Northern Lights Conference competition.

“We made history,” Wasilla junior Jenna Johnson, who scored a game-high 26 points, said after the win.

At the sound of the buzzer, Wasilla faithful filled the air with red and white confetti and fans lifted large pieces of poster board complete with the digits 1-0-0, to celebrate the feat that dates back to Feb. 16, 2001.

On that day, Jeannie Hebert-Truax’s squad earned a win over Kodiak to start the streak. And since, as more than seven years have gone by, Wasilla has won seven straight NLC titles, made three trips to the 4A state title game and captured a state championship in 2007.

“I just think back to all the people, all the players, my parents, my coaches that are no longer with me,” Hebert-Truax said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

During the last 100 NLC games, Wasilla is 75-0 during the regular season, 21-0 in conference tournament play and has won four games against conference foes in events such as the ASAA state tourney, the Palmer Elks Showdown and the Joe Floyd Tournament.

“If someone would have told me we would have won 100 straight games in our conference when we were at 50, I would have said they’re crazy,” Hebert-Truax said. “But the kids have come to play every night.”

Hebert-Truax said it’s definitely taken a certain level of commitment by all over her players throughout the last seven years to achieve such a feat.

“The kids coming to practice every day to work hard, to get better and do what I ask them. What more can a coach ask than that?” Hebert-Truax said. “It’s the pride, intensity, commitment and enthusiasm my players bring. They understand what it takes in order to play.”

There are the lopsided victories such as Wasilla’s 25-point win on Saturday, but intertwined in the streak are literally dozens of nail-bitters that all could have signaled the end to the streak at any point.

There are the overtime wins, and the victories captured at the free-throw line. Each season there were games that had the potential of going the opposite way.

And there have been those moments this season.

Palmer came just 0.6 seconds away from snapping the streak in January. PHS junior Kelsey Campbell buried what she thought was a game-winning three-pointer. But as it turned out, Campbell released the shot just after the final buzzer sounded and Wasilla walked off its home court with a two-point win. The Warriors were also tested by the Colony Knights.

Johnson, who is in her third season as a Wasilla starter, said this has been the toughest season of her career to keep the streak alive.

“Definitely,” Johnson said. “Just the fact that everyone’s so young and the fact that all of the other teams have been playing together for so long.”

Hebert-Truax’s squad brings new meaning to the term young. To put the streak in perspective, two members of the Wasilla starting lineup, freshmen Kelsey Cottle and Celeste Colegrove, were in the second grade when the streak started. Another starter, sophomore Skyler Nuss, was in the third. Wasilla’s lone senior, Shelby Fulton, had not even hit middle school yet.

Wasilla coasted to its 100th straight win, thanks in part to a 19-2 run in the second quarter. The Warriors’ second-quarter success was fueled by their ability to control possession, something Wasilla struggled with during the first eight minutes.

“In the first quarter, nine out of our first 22 possessions were turnovers and then in the second quarter, three out of our 22 possessions were turnovers,” Hebert-Truax said. “The second quarter we were taking care of the ball.”

And that gave the Warriors a chance to keep the scorekeeper busy. Johnson two of her game-high four three-pointers and scored 12 of her 26 points during the second quarter.

Wasilla 52, Kodiak 27

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 8-2-7-10—27

Wasilla 14-19-14-5—52

Kodiak (27) — E. Horn 1 0-0 2, Norton 1 0-0 2, Keplinger 2 0-3 4, McCarty 3 0-0 6, A. Horn 4 1-2 9, Timpke 2 0-4 4; Totals: 13 1-9 27.

Wasilla (52) — Frizzelle 0 1-2 1, Fulton 2 2-2 6, Nuss 1 2-4 4, Naczi 1 0-2 2, Johnson 9 4-7 26, Colegrove 2 2-2 6, Cottle 3 1-2 7, Troisi 0 0-2 0; Totals: 18 12-23 52.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 0, Wasilla 4 (Johnson 4); Total fouls: Kodiak 11, Wasilla 15.

Wasilla 55, Kodiak 35

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors used a 16-3 first-quarter run to spark a 55-35 win over the Kodiak Bears on Friday at Wasilla High School.

Junior Jenna Johnson scored 18 points in the win, and senior Shelby Fulton added 16.

Kodiak forward Alysa Horn posted a game-high 24 in the loss.

Wasilla 55, Kodiak 35

Friday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 3-8-10-14—35

Wasilla 16-10-15-14—55

Kodiak (35) — E. Horn 1 0-0 2, Norton 0 2-8 2, McCarty 1 0-2 2, A. Horn 9 6-10 24, Jones 1 0-3 2, Timpke 1 1-1 3; Totals: 13 8-24 35.

Wasilla (55) — Frizzelle 0 1-2 1, Fulton 4 6-8 16, Nuss 1 2-4 4, Naczi 1 0-0 3, Johnson 5 7-11 18, Colegrove 2 4-5 8, Cottle 2 1-3 5; Totals: 15 21-33 55.

Three-point field goals: Kodiak 0, Wasilla 4 (Fulton 2); Total fouls: Kodiak 23, Wasilla 19.