Wasilla, Colony to battle for a spot in the 4A girls state title game; Houston boys also move into state hoops semis

At least one Mat-Su team will compete for a state basketball championship.

The Wasilla and Colony girls squads scored victories during the first round of ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships Wednesday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

The second-seeded Warriors and third-seeded Knights will meet for the fourth time this season Friday at 4:45 p.m. in the state semifinals.

Wasilla, the 2022 state runner-up, beat seventh-seeded Lathrop 60-33. The Warriors started the game on a 16-5 run and outscored the Malemutes 17-4 in the third.

Layla Hays led the Warriors with a monster effort and double-double. Hays scored 24 points on 11 of 17 shooting, and added 19 rebounds. She also grabbed six steals. Mylee Anderson added 15 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

Colony held on to beat sixth-seeded Juneau-Douglas 53-46. The Knights held the Crimson Bears to single digits in scoring in each of the first two quarters, but Juneau made it interesting with 20 points in the fourth.

Hallie Clark led Colony with 22 points. Skylar Tuckwood scored 30 for the Bears.

The Houston boys also advanced to the state semifinals, thanks to a huge 30-5 run in the fourth quarter of a 64-51 win over Valdez in the 3A quarterfinals.

Valdez scored 38 of its 51 points in the second and the quarters.

Cole Taylor hit eight three-pointers for the Hawks and scored a game-high 28 points. Noah Whitted added 15 points. Deegan VanDussen grabbed 10 rebounds.

The win moves Houston into a state semifinal rematch with Nome Thursday at 7:45 p.m. The 3A foes also met in the second round last year.

In other action, fourth-seeded Monroe Catholic beat fifth-seeded Colony 45-30 in the 4A boys semifinals.

The Rams held Colony to only four points in the first half. Blake Dinkel led Colony with 11.

The Knights will face eighth-seeded Juneau-Douglas Friday at 9:30 a.m. in the consolation semifinals.

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