Wasilla boys, girls rebound from slow starts to sweep Moose

WASILLA — Just before the halftime buzzer, Wasilla freshman Levi Houck took a pass at the right side of the floor and knocked down a long three-pointer. It wasn’t a game-winner. It didn’t even give the Warriors the lead. But it may have provided the spark the Warriors were looking for while locked in a tough first half against rival Palmer.

Despite trailing by a point at the break, Wasilla put together a 34-point second half and scored a 54-39 Northern Lights Conference win over the Moose Tuesday night at Wasilla High School.

“It was huge momentum-wise in the sense that he had the confidence to come out and take that (shot),” Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said after the victory. “It says kudos to what we do in our program, how we manager our entire program, from (C-team to junior varsity to varsity), that he can step up in that moment, that 90 seconds he got, catch, not even think twice, and let it go.”

Engebretsen said the Warriors didn’t focus entirely during the intermission off building from the Houck three, but the longtime head coach of the program said he certainly saw something different from his players in the final two quarters.

“I didn’t like our energy in the first half. I didn’t think we came out moving very well offensively,” Engebretsen said.

But that quickly changed in the third quarter, thanks in part to the play of Kobe Brown. The senior used a quick basket inside the first minute of the third to give the Warriors a lead.

“That was a little design to get him going,” Engebretsen said of Brown. “He sat down the entire second quarter in foul trouble.”

But Brown came through in the third. Brown scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the quarter. With the Warriors leading 28-25, Brown swatted passes midcourt, got the steals and went to the basket on back-to-back possessions to push Wasilla’s advantage to 32-25. Later in the quarter, Brown hit the first of his four three-pointers in the game to give the Warriors the 10-point lead.

Brown’s effort marks the third straight game in which a different Warrior has scored 25 or more points in a win. Last week, Reilly Devine scored 28 during a victory over Service. Last Saturday, Daniel Headdings scored 28 in a win over West.

Brown followed Tuesday with the 25 against the Moose. Engebretsen said it’s a trait he’s seen from his starting five all season. Starters Aeron Milliron and Isaac Houck have also come through with big nights.

Palmer’s standout Clayton Southwick was on the verge of a big night himself with a dozen first-half points Southwick scored Palmer’s first six points to give the Moose the early lead, and added six more in the second to help Palmer maintain a second-quarter lead. But Wasilla held Southwick to only five points in the second half.

The Moose were held to nine points in each of the final two quarters. In the fourth, Palmer didn’t have a field goal until Liam Hughes-Duffy hit a three-pointer with only 2:32 left in the game.

With the win, Wasilla improved to 7-0 in Northern Lights Conference play. The Warriors host Kenai Central Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Soldotna Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Palmer dropped to 2-3 in the NLC with the loss. The Moose host Soldotna Friday at 7 p.m. and Kenai Central Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Slow start doesn’t stop Wasilla girls

There may have been a slow start fort the Wasilla girls, but the Warriors managed to score a 66-43 win over rival Palmer Tuesday evening in Wasilla.

Wasilla was held scoreless for the first 4:20 of play, but capped the first quarter with a 14-2 run in the win. Palmer held a slim 2-0 lead early, before Azlynn Brandenburg supplied the first bucket of the game for the Warriors, a three-pointer with 3:40 left in the first quarter.

Five different Warriors combined for the 14 points during the late first-quarter run, and Brandburg scored a dozen of her game-best 16 points to help Wasilla build a 26-13 halftime lead.

Catherine Baham also scored a game-high 16 for the Warriors. Eleven of her 16 came in the third quarter.

Mallory Wheeler added 13 second-half points for the Warriors.

Palmer was held to single digits in scoring in each of the first three quarters, and scored 22 of its 43 points in the fourth.

Abriana Busbey led Palmer with a dozen.

Wasilla improved to 7-0 in NLC play with the victory. The Warriors host Kenai Central Thursday at 6 p.m. and Soldotna Saturday at 3 p.m. The Moose are now 1-4 in the conference, and host Soldotna Friday at 5:15 p.m. and Kenai Saturday at 3 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla boys 54, Palmer 39

Tuesday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 11-10-9-9—39

Wasilla 11-9-18-16—54

Palmer (39) — Osiensky 2 0-3 4, Martin 1 0-0 3, Hawkins 0 3-5 3, Hughes-Duffy 2 0-0 5, Southwick 7 3-5 17, Eiman 3 1-2 7; Totals: 15 7-12 39.

Wasilla (54) — Brown 9 3-4 25, Headdings 3 0-0 6, R. Devine 4 2-2 10, Fife 2 0-0 4, Milliron 3 0-1 6, L. Houck 1 0-0 3; Totals: 22 5-7 54.

Wasilla girls 66, Palmer 43

Tuesday, Wasilla High School

Palmer 4-9-8-22—43

Wasilla 14-12-21-19—66

Palmer (43) — Busbey 4 3-9 12, Kinter 0 1-2 1, Bowman 2 0-0 5, Suaava 4 2-2 11, Uschmann 4 1-2 9, Alley 2 1-2 5; Totals: 16 8-17 43.

Wasilla (66) — Obermski 1 0-0 3, Baham 6 0-0 16, Kelly 1 0-0 2, Brandenburg 5 3-5 16, Wheeler 4 5-6 13, Dinkel 2 8-10 12, Green 2 0-0 4; Totals: 21 16-22 66.

3-point field goals: Palmer 3 (3 with 1), Wasilla 8 (Baham 4); Total fouls: Palmer 19, Wasilla 14.