Warrior defense smothering in win over Moose

PALMER — Wasilla’s defensive pressure was devastating.

Not only did the Warriors limit Palmer’s opportunities on the offensive side of the floor, Wasilla’s smothering defense prevented the Moose from having the chance to play in a conference title game on their home court.

Fueled by its defensive play, the Wasilla Warriors scored a 50-31 win over the Moose in the Northern Lights Conference semifinals at Palmer High School on Friday.

With the win, Wasilla advances to its ninth consecutive NLC championship game.

With the loss, Palmer was forced into the consolation bracket with the task of winning two games in order to get back to the state tourney

Palmer managed just a single first-quarter point and 10 points in the first half against the Warriors.

“They came out with a lot of energy,” Palmer head coach Paul Reid said of the Warriors.

Wasilla’s intensity on defense forced the Moose to do things they simply did not intend, or want, to do, Reid said.

“We got frantic on offense,” Reid said. “Panicked.”

Once the Moose got into a hole, Reid said, his team had difficulty being patient on offense and started to force things.

“Defensively, the kids did a great job,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said. “They executed the gameplan exactly the way we wanted them to. It was a total team effort for the full game. They played a full 32 minutes.”

Sparked by their defense, the Warriors built a 10-1 lead in the first quarter, allowing just a Jaimi Cox free throw.

Wasilla’s defense prevented the Moose from scoring, and its veterans provided their own offensive attack.

Junior Jenna Johnson helped the Warriors get the early lead with her own personal seven-point run in the first quarter.

Johnson found a lane to the basket for an easy lay-up and drove the baseline to give Wasilla the five-point lead. She capped the first quarter with a three-pointer from the corner.

Senior Shelby Fulton helped the Warriors extend their lead to 17 in the third, with nine third-quarter points. Fulton hit a pair of three-pointers within a 30-second span to turn a six-point lead into a 12-point advantage.

Johnson scored a game-high 19 points, while Fulton added

15.

The Warriors also got key offensive contribution from freshman center Kelsey Cottle.

Cottle hit a jumper at the free-throw line early in the first quarter, the first of her eight points, a shot Hebert-Truax said certainly helped the young post player gain some confidence early in the game.

“We’ve been working with Kelsey and [freshman Celeste Colegrove] both, when they get the ball at the high post, they’ve got to shoot it,” Hebert-Truax said.

Cottle also led the Warrior attack inside defensively, helping prevent the Moose from getting an extra opportunities.

“They didn’t get a lot of second shots,” Hebert-Truax said.

Senior Mattie Cox was the lone Palmer player to hit double digits in scoring. Cox collected 10 points, while fellow senior Ashley Swetzof added eight.

Reid said early foul troubles threw a wrench into Palmer’s plans. Reid wanted junior guard Mikaela Bolling, one of Palmer’s top defenders, to shadow Johnson. But two early fouls sent Bolling to the bench. Reid wasn’t critical of Bolling getting tagged with the fouls, and his junior was simply working hard on the defensive side of the floor.

Palmer also brought a tough defensive presence to the floor in the game. Led by Swetzof, the Moose were physical inside and made the Warriors work for their buckets.

WARRIORS 50, MOOSE 31

NLC Semifinals

Friday, Palmer High School

Wasilla 10 6 19 15 — 50

Palmer 1 9 8 13 — 31

WASILLA (50) — Fulton 5 3-7 15, Nuss 1 0-0 2, Naczi 2 0-2 4, Johnson 6 6-9 19, Colegrove 0 2-2 2, Cottle 4 0-0 8. Totals: 18 11-20 50.

PALMER (31) — Swetzof 3 0-2 7, J. Cox 2 1-2 5, Campbell 1 0-0 3, M. Cox 4 2-4 10. Tzou 1 0-0 2, Ratcliff 2 0-0 4. Totals: 13 3-10 31.

Three-point field goals — Wasilla 3 (Fulton 2, Johnson), Palmer 2 (Swetzof, Campbell). Total fouls — Wasilla 10, Palmer 19. Fouled out — none.