Warriors edge Knights

WASILLA -- The Wasilla defense forced a late turnover and Chandice Cronk hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds of the contest as Wasilla held on to top the Colony Knights 44-41 at Wasilla High School on Friday.

Cronk forced Colony into a more desperate situation after hitting the foul shots with just 15 seconds left in the game. Wasilla had clung to a one-point lead since Colony senior Siena Locke hit a three-pointer with just more than two minutes left in regulation.

The nearly two-minutes of scoreless basketball at the end of the contest was parallel with the defensive effort of the teams throughout the contest.

"It developed into a slugfest," Colony head coach Don Witzel said.

Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said she expected Colony to bring intensity to the court, but was at least a little surprised about how defense dominated the game.

"They played their game, they played patient," the Wasilla mentor said. "They are one of the best teams in the state."

The importance of defense was certainly in the minds of the Knights as they faced a player in Cronk who scorched them for 48 points in a meeting earlier this season.

"I felt pretty good about the defense, (Chandice) is tough to cover," Witzel said while noting the defensive effort of Teresa Hill and Kristiana Klapperich. "She was not given easy shots."

Witzel said the defensive strategy of the Knights was to stick and apply pressure to Cronk and the potent Wasilla shooters, adding he felt there was only one possession where Wasila was able to escape the grasp of the Colony defense, a Creel jumpshot near the baseline in the second half.

Cronk scored 13 of her game-high 23 points in the second half and fellow senior Laural Creel added nine pivotal points to help lead the Warriors past their cross-town rivals.

Colony used a 10-7 run during the second quarter to take a 20-19 lead into the half. Locke scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter, hitting three shots from the floor, including a key shot from behind the arc.

With the win, the Warriors finished the regular season with a 10-0 regular season. Wasilla has not lost a regular season Region III contest in the last three seasons.