Warrior squads advance to region finals

HOMER -- There was nearly an upset of monumental proportions at Homer High School Friday. The Kodiak Bears gave the Wasilla boys a test in the semifinals of the Region III tournament and nearly knocked off the Warriors, the top-ranked team in the state.

Wasilla led just 21-18 at the half. A 20-14 advantage in the third quarter proved to be crucial for the Warrriors, who were outscored 18-17 in the fourth quarter.

Buddy Bailey led the Warriors with a game-high 22 points. Ray Schafer added 12.

The Warriors will be met in the region finals by Valley foe, Colony, who knocked off crosstown rival Palmer 62-41.

Four Knights scored in double figures for Colony. Joe Reza scored a team-high 14 points.

Jesse Prins led Palmer with eight points.

The Wasilla girls will face Soldotna in the girls' finals. Wasilla defeated Valley rival Colony 55-33 to advance to the next round.

Chandice Cronk scored 18 points and Trista White added 15 points. Kristina Klapperich led Colony with 16 points.

Colony will meet Palmer in the third-place match. Palmer fell to Soldotna 45-26 in the semifinals.

Chrissy Lien led the Moose with 13 points.

Results from the region championships will be in Tuesday's edition of the Frontiersman.

Friday's results

WASILLA BOYS 58, KODIAK 50

KODIAK (50) — Agmata 1 0-0 3; Cabudol 0 1-2 1; Rounsaville 0 0-0 0; Johnson 3 0-0 7; Simpson 6 0-0 12; Reitze 5 0-0 10; Norton 3 3-5 11; Mortenson 1 2-2 4; Zeplinger 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 6-9 50.

WASILLA (58) — Schierman 3 1-4 8; Bailey 6 5-6 22; Roth 1 0-0 2; Champion 0 0-0 0; Gray 0 3-4 3; Furman 0 1-1 1; L. Schafer 4 0-0 8; Heibel 1 0-0 2; R. Schafer 6 0-0 12. Totals 21 10-15 58.

Total fouls — Kodiak 16, Wasilla 10. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Norton 2, Agmata, Johnson, Bailey 5, Schierman.

Kodiak 7 11 14 18 — 50

Wasilla 9 12 20 17 — 58

COLONY BOYS 62, PALMER 41

COLONY (62) — Swank 4 0-0 11; Reza 6 2-4 14; Hotchkiss 1 0-0 3; Schwartzbauer 1 0-0 2; Coffman 3 3-5 9; Elliot 5 2-2 13; Hyslip 4 2-4 10. Totals 24 9-15 62.

PALMER (41) — Johnson 1 0-0 2; Bentti 1 0-0 2; Prins 3 1-3 8; Gaines 1 1-2 3; duBois 3 0-0 8; Ratcliff 2 0-0 4; Berberich 2 2-2 6; Devon 4 0-5 8. Totals 17 4-12 41.

Total fouls — Colony 15, Palmer 13. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Elliot 4, Swank 3, Hotchkiss, duBois 2, Prins.

Colony 19 18 14 11 — 62

Palmer 9 5 15 12 — 41

WASILLA GIRLS 55, COLONY 33

COLONY (33) — Joynt 0 0-0 0; Sumter 0 0-0 0; Spoth 0 0-0 0; Hill 0 1-2 1; Johnson 0 0-0 0; Locke 2 0-2 5; Egger 1 2-2 4; Morris 0 2-3 2; Klapperich 6 4-6 16; Baldwin 0 1-2 1; Burton 0 0-0 0; Dault 2 0-2 4. Totals 11 10-19 33.

WASILLA (55) — Haley 0 0-0 0; Tompkins 1 0-0 3; Schirack 0 0-2 0; White 6 3-3 15; Lund 2 1-2 5; Cronk 6 5-5 18; Stearman 6 0-0 12; Wesser 0 0-0 0; Mayes 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 9-12 55.

Total fouls — Colony 15, Wasilla 15. Fouled out — Mayes. Three-point goals — Locke, Tompkins, Cronk.

Colony 7 6 7 13 — 33

Wasilla 12 22 10 11 — 55

SOLDOTNA GIRLS 45, PALMER 26

PALMER (26) — Berberich 0 0-0 0; Cox 0 0-0 0; Aro 0 0-0 0; Chapman 0 0-0 0; Hooker 2 0-0 4; Jones 1 0-0 2; Lien 6 1-2 13; Hart 0 0-0 0; Bolling 2 1-2 5; Irvine 0 0-0 0; Stanley 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 2-4 26.

SOLDOTNA (45) — Senette 3 0-0 7; Wolfe 0 0-0 0; Christensen 0 0-0 0; Foster 0 0-0 0; Besse 8 1-1 17; Syverson 2 0-0 6; Howard 0 0-0 0; Denna 0 0-0 0; Zobeck 6 1-2 13; Breakfield 1 0-0 2; Hartman 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 2-3 45.

Total fouls — Palmer 11, Soldotna 7. Fouled out — None. Three-point goals — Syverson 2, Senette.

Palmer 2 6 5 13 — 26

Soldotna 16 11 10 8 — 45