Teams could separate at the line

PALMER — There’s a good chance the Northern Lights Conference Championships girls title could be won at the free throw line.

Three of the biggest NLC regular season games of the year that included Mat-Su teams were decided at the free throw line. Colony head coach Tom Lincoln knows that as well as anyone. He was standing on the sideline in each one of those games.

“We lost two games against Wasilla and we lost because of free throws,” Lincoln said.

Colony held Wasilla without a field goal during the fourth quarter of a 35-28 loss to Wasilla in February, but Warrior point guard Alexis Imoe hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final frame to help Wasilla win. Colony was just 4-of-12 from the line in the fourth. The rivals’ first meeting of the season was eerily similar, with Imoe hitting 11-of-13 free throws during the second half of a Wasilla 41-30 win.

Late in the regular season, Colony also won a big game at the line. The Knights drained 13 free throws during overtime of a 62-55 win over Palmer.

“The Palmer game came down to free throws,” Lincoln said.

There will likely be many other variables that will factor into the outcomes of the games during the three-day NLC Championships that start Thursday at Homer High School.

Colony (8-2), the No. 2 seed in the NLC North, will open the tournament against Skyview (2-8) Thursday at 8 a.m.

While it’s not ideal to play in the first game of the tournament, the Knights will have the remainder of the day to rest. Colony will play either Kodiak (3-7) or Kenai (7-3) during the second day of the tourney.

Wasilla (10-0) is the lone undefeated team in the tourney and the NLC North’s top seed. The Warriors open their tournament Thursday at 6:15 p.m. against host Homer (0-10).

Wasilla beat Homer 69-13 during the final weekend of the regular season.

Wasilla will see either Palmer (4-6) or Soldotna (6-4) during the second day of the tournament.

The Moose meet Soldotna in a game expected to be one of the most competitive of the first round of the bracket, Thursday at 3 p.m. Palmer finished 3-1 against South Division teams this year, a mark that included a 42-37 win over the Stars.

Tournament action continues Friday with consolation games at 8 a.m. and 11:30, and championship semifinals at 3 and 6:30 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com. For updates throughout the NLC Championships, see twitter.com/matsu_sports.