Wasilla, Colony top seeds in both NLC basketball tournament brackets

WASILLA — Not much has separated the Wasilla Warriors and Colony Knights girls and boys basketball programs this year.

On the girls’ side, Wasilla needed overtime in one game and a monster fourth quarter in the next meeting to sweep the two-game regular-season series against the Knights. On the boys’ side, Wasilla and Colony split during the regular season and a coin flip was needed to break a tie between the two teams.

The Wasilla Warriors and Colony Knights enter the Northern Lights Conference Championships as the top 2 seeds on each bracket of the tournament, which starts Thursday at Kenai Central High School.

Girls bracket

Wasilla (9-1) is the No. 1 seed in the girls’ bracket. The Warriors lone blemish on their NLC record came after Wasilla was forced to forfeit its final game of the regular season, a game against Kodiak on Saturday.

Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said the Warriors went over the total number of regular-season games allowed by the Alaska Schools Activities Association. Hebert-Truax said the problem is due to a paper work error regarding a game originally planned as an endowment game. Teams are allowed two endowment games (which don’t count toward the team’s overall record) in addition to 22 regular-season games.

Fortunately the error did not impact the NLC standings. Wasilla remained the No. 1 seed, regardless of the outcome Saturday. The forfeit victory pushed Kodiak to 6-4 in NLC play, but the Bears were already locked into the No. 3 seed.

Top-seeded Wasilla is in search of its first NLC title since 2013.

Wasilla has used an influx of young talent to reestablish itself as a top team in the NLC. The Warriors have only two seniors on the roster and start at least two underclassmen each night.

“We’re continually growing,” Wasilla senior Cassidy Edwards said after a victory over Kodiak last Friday. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”

Colony (8-2) is the No. 2 seed. The Knights finished as the runner-up in both the NLC and state tournaments last year. Both losses came to NLC rival Kodiak.

While the Warriors have youth, Colony is arguably the most experienced team in the NLC. The Knights return three starters from the 2013-14 state runner-up squad, including senior guard Faith Farris, a first-team All-NLC selection last season.

Wasilla will open its tournament with either fourth-seeded Soldotna (3-7) or fifth-seeded Kenai (2-8) in the semifinals Friday at 6:45 p.m. at Kenai Central. Colony plays third-seeded Kodiak or Palmer Friday at 3:15 p.m. in the semis at KCHS.

Palmer (2-8) is the sixth seed in the tournament. Palmer and Kenai both finished 2-8 in league play, but the Kards were 2-0 against the Moose during the regular season, and got the fifth seed.

Palmer opens against third-seeded Kodiak Thursday at 4:45 p.m. at Kenai Central. The teams met twice during the regular season in Kodiak in mid-January. Kodiak beat Palmer 38-23 in the first game, and 43-25 the next day.

The girls championship game is Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Kenai. There are also third- and fourth-place games scheduled. The loser of Friday’s semifinal games meet Saturday at 1:45 p.m. in the third-place match. The losers of Thursday’s quarterfinal games meet Friday at 11:45 a.m. in the fourth-place match.

Boys bracket

A coin flip gave Wasilla the top seed in the NLC boys bracket.

Wasilla and Colony split its two-game regular-season series and finished in a tie at the top of the NLC standings with identical 9-1 records.

Wasilla has won six straight games in NLC play. Wasilla’s lone defeat in February was a nonconference loss to Lathrop. The Warriors also enjoyed a big final week to the regular season. The Warriors beat Colony 54-50 at Colony High, and swept a two-game series at Kodiak. Wasilla beat Kodiak 35-30 last Friday and 43-30 last Saturday.

Colony, which closed its regular season with a 58-36 win over Palmer last Saturday, is the No. 2 seed in the bracket. Before knowing the result of the coin flip, Colony head coach Tom Berg said he is simply happy to see his team earn a top-2 seed and first-round bye.

“Every team wants to have the one or two seed. It makes for a little more relaxed of a situation, only having to play two games instead of three,” Berg said after the win over Palmer. “Ever since (the conference) switched to this (tournament) format, we’ve been blessed enough to always have a bye.”

Top-seeded Wasilla will face either fourth-seeded Kodiak (3-7) or fifth-seed Palmer (3-7) Friday at 1:30 p.m. at KCHS. Colony will see either third-seeded Soldotna (5-5) or sixth-seed Kenai (3-7) Friday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals.

“It’s still going to come down to tournament basketball,” Berg said. “For us, it’s going to be prepare for the two teams we could be playing on Friday night,” Berg said.

And Berg said he’s not discounting anyone, even a potential matchup with sixth-seeded Kenai in the semifinals. Kenai suffered a slim 43-42 loss to SoHi last Saturday.

“That’s not necessarily who you want to be matched up with,” Berg said of a potential meeting with the host school. “Anytime you get in some of those games you just have to make sure you’re fresh, and it comes down to who can execute.”

Palmer, which won three of its final five games of the regular season, meets Kodiak Thursday at 3 p.m. in the first round. The Moose split a pair with Kodiak early last week. The Moose fell to Kodiak 45-33 and rebounded to beat the Bears 44-38 the following day.

Palmer head coach Brandon Blake likes the matchup.

“We know the game is going to be competitive, we know it’s a game we can win,” Blake said.

Blake said the Moose are focused on the opportunity to compete for a spot in the state tournament. The winners of Friday’s semifinal games earn the conference’s two bids to state.

“We’ve just got to give ourselves the opportunity to get in that game that gets us to state,” Blake said.

Blake said he’s expecting a very competitive conference tournament, and sees the bracket up for grabs.

“Both the one and two seeds are very solid teams, very tough to beat, but beatable,” Blake said. “I think someone is prime for an upset. The possibility is at least there.”

The boys championship final is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Kenai. There are also third- and fourth-place games scheduled. The losers of the semifinal games meet in the third-place match Saturday at noon. The losers of the first-round games meet Friday at 10 a.m.

Southcentral Conference

The Houston Hawks girls and boys basketball squads will compete in the Southcentral Conference Championships, which start Thursday in Homer.

Houston is seeded sixth in the girls’ bracket and face host Homer, the No. 3 seed, Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the first round. Houston beat Homer 46-45 last weekend.

With a win, Houston would move forward to play either second-seeded Grace Christian or seventh-seeded Cordova Friday at 6:30 p.m. With a loss, the Hawks would face either fourth-seeded Anchorage Christian or fifth-seeded Seward Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Houston is seeded seventh in the boys’ bracket and plays second-seeded Anchorage Christian Thursday at 4:45 p.m. in Homer. With a win, Houston would move forward to face either third-seeded Homer or sixth-seeded Nikiski Friday at 8:15 p.m. With a loss, the Hawks would move back to face either fourth-seeded Cordova or fifth-seeded Seward Friday at 1:15 p.m.