Wasilla draws power from strong post play

WASILLA — Wasilla’s Kelsey Cottle and Kenai Central’s Raquel Young have a few things in common. They’re both juniors. They both lead their team in scoring. And they both wear the No. 42.

“I told Cottle to make sure Kenai’s 42 didn’t out-play Wasilla’s 42,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

Cottle didn’t disappoint.

Wasilla’s 6-foot-5 post scored 10 of her team’s 12 first-quarter points to lead the Warriors to a 58-32 win over Kenai Central on Saturday at Wasilla High School.

Cottle scored Wasilla’s first eight points of the contest and finished with a game-high 24.

“When she gets off to a good start, everybody just kind of feeds off her,” Hebert-Truax said.

Cottle, who towered over a Kenai team that doesn’t sport a player taller than Young at 5-10, consistently grabbed passes lobbed by her teammates and took the ball to the basket. Cottle also turned a handful of offensive rebounds into easy buckets.

“Everybody else is doing a better job of attacking the defense, handling the basketball and getting the ball where it needs to be, when it needs to be there,” Hebert-Truax said. “Our timing’s getting a lot better.”

Senior Skyler Nuss added 13 in the victory.

“She attacked the basket (and) made a couple of outside shots,” Hebert-Truax said of Nuss.

The Warrior defense held Kenai to only 13 second-half points.

“We settled in and played good, hard-nosed defense,” Hebert-Truax said.

Senior Lexi Beeson led Kenai with seven points.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla 58, Kenai 32

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Kenai 5-13-9-4—32

Wasilla 12-17-14-15—58

Kenai (32) — Hull 0 1-2 1, L. Beeson 2 2-2 7, B. Beeson 0 2-2 2, Flanagan 2 1-2 5, Wensley 3 1-1 7, Dunlap 2 0-0 4, Young 2 2-6 6; Totals: 11 9-17 32.

Wasilla (58) — Appangolook 1 0-0 2, Imoe 3 1-2 7, Nuss 5 3-6 13, Naczi 1 0-0 2, Colegrove 4 2-5 10, Cottle 11 2-2 24; Totals: 25 8-15 58.

3-point field goals: Kenai 1 (L. Beeson 1), Wasilla 0; Total fouls: Kenai 14, Wasilla 16.