valley sweep?

MAT-SU — It’s been a long time since a team from outside the Mat-Su Valley won a Northern Lights Conference title — 16 years to be exact — and this week a deep set of Valley teams will look to continue the Mat-Su domination of NLC girls’ basketball.

Colony, winners of eight NLC titles since 1994, is going for its second straight conference crown. To win a ninth title in 14 years, Colony head coach said the Knights may have to go through their two Valley rivals to get it.

“It’s going to be a battle either way,” Witzel said games against Wasilla and Palmer. “I kind of expect to see both those teams next week — one in the semis, one in the finals.”

Colony used a lopsided win over Soldotna on Saturday to finish the regular season 10-0 in NLC play. Wasilla and Palmer were both 7-3 in the NLC this year, and the three Valley teams were a combined 18-0 against teams from Kodiak and the Kenai Peninsula.

With the top seed from the NLC North comes a first-round date with Skyview (1-9) during the tournament’s opening round on Thursday. Palmer, the No. 3 seed from the North, is on the same side of the bracket as the Knights, and will face the South Division’s second seed, Soldotna (5-5) in the first round. Second-seeded Wasilla faces Homer (2-8), the third seed from the South on Thursday afternoon.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.