Top-seeded Kodiak girls need rally to beat Wasilla

PALMER — Through the first three quarters, the Wasilla Warriors handled Hannah Wandersee fairly well. Kodiak’s 6-foot-1 senior center had a modest nine points, with the bulk of the damage coming in the first quarter.

But Wandersee came through when the Bears needed her most. Wandersee opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points to help the top-ranked Kodiak Bears rally to a 55-47 win over the Wasilla Warriors during the Northern Lights Conference Championship semifinals at Colony High Friday afternoon.

Kodiak moved into the conference title game for the second straight year with the win, and earned one of the conference’s two automatic bids to the state tournament. Wasilla will have to settle for an appearance in the bracket’s third-place game.

Wasilla led 40-35 heading into the fourth quarter before Wandersee struck. Wandersee’s four baskets gave Kodiak the 43-40 lead.

“We had them where we wanted them,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said. “We got lackadaisical a little bit on their press and they got three or four quick steals in the fourth that really hurt us. That was probably the turning point in the game.”

Kodiak senior Jerica Nelson set up Wandersee’s second basket of the fourth with a steal and assist. She swiped another pass and went in for the layup to give Kodiak the 47-42 lead midway through the final quarter.

Wasilla senior Amanda Hutchins hit a pair of free throws at the 5:09 mark of the fourth to supply her team’s first points of the period. That pulled the Warriors within a point. Kodiak followed with a Carissa Cannon jumper and the Nelson steal and layup to extend its lead.

Wandersee helped undefeated and top-ranked Kodiak avoid the upset in easily the team’s most difficult challenge of the season. Kodiak’s eight-point win over the Warriors marks the Bears’ smallest margin of victory this season. It’s only the second time Kodiak has beaten a team by only single digits. Of Kodiak’s 21 wins, 19 have come by 10 points or more.

“We put up a great fight. The kids did great,” Hebert-Truax said.

Kodiak held the advantage early, but Wasilla grabbed its first lead early in the second quarter with a Kaylyn Kelly free throw. Cassidy Edwards and Machia Toews added baskets to push Wasilla’s lead to five points by the midway mark of the second quarter. Senior Amanda Hutchins hit one of her two three-pointers with 2:53 left in the first half to give Wasilla the 26-18 advantage.

Hutchins led the Warriors with 12 points.

Kodiak boys top Warriors

PALMER — An underclassman sparked Kodiak, and the veteran piled it on.

Sophomore Alec Canete-Hall scored eight of his team’s first 14 points and senior captain Austin Frick buried a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter to lead Kodiak to a 58-42 win over Wasilla in the boys’ NLC semifinals Friday at Colony High.

Canete-Hall scored six straight Kodiak points early in the first quarter to help the Bears grab the early lead. The sophomore finished with a game-high 19 in the win. Frick added 16.

Wasilla junior Cameron Brown, who scored a tournament-high 28 points during a Day 1 win over Kenai, led Wasilla with 15 points. Fellow junior Alex Baham added a dozen.

Kodiak moved into the NLC final with the win, and grabbed one of the conference’s two automatic berths to the state tournament. This marks Kodiak’s first trip to the conference title game since 2011.

Wasilla went on to face Soldotna in the NLC third-place game.

Kodiak girls 55,

Wasilla 47

NLC semifinals

Friday, Colony High

Wasilla 10-16-14-7—47

Kodiak 12-8-15-20—55

Wasilla (47) — Kelly 0 3-4 3, Johnson 3 1-2 7, Baham 3 0-0 6, Toews 4 2-5 11, Hutchins 4 2-2 12, Dinkel 1 0-0 2, Edwards 3 0-1 6; Totals: 18 8-14 47.

Kodiak (55) — Horn 3 0-0 9, Nelson 5 2-2 13, Canon 2 3-6 7, Catt 0 1-1 1, Pyles 3 2-4 8, Wandersee 7 3-4 17; Totals: 20 11-17 55.

3-point field goals: Wasilla 3 (Hutchins 2), Kodiak 4 (Horn 3); Total fouls: Wasilla 19, Kodiak 13.

Kodiak boys 58,

Wasilla 42

NLC semifinals

Friday, Colony High

Kodiak 14-15-18-11—58

Wasilla 9-9-14-10—42

Kodiak (58) — Mangalus 3 0-0 6, Frick 6 0-0 16, Bezona 4 2-2 10, A. Canete- Hall 6 7-8 19, T. Canete-Hall 0 1-2 1, Garcia 2 2-4 6; Totals: 21 12-16 58.

Wasilla (42) — Brown 5 5-6 15, Baham 5 0-0 12, Garnett 1 0-1 2, McGregor 3 2-2 9, Houck 1 0-0 2, Burns 1 0-0 2; Totals: 16 7-9 42.

3-point field goals: Kodiak 4 (Frick 4), Wasilla; Total fouls: Kodiak 11, Wasilla 11.