Wasilla girls advance to championship bracket at Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

ANCHORAGE — Sixteen of the top girls basketball programs in the state hit Dimond High School this week, and the Wasilla Warriors have moved into the top 4 of the championship bracket.

Wasilla advanced to the semifinals with a 55-35 win over Lathrop during the second day of the Lady Lynx Prep Shootout at Dimond High School Thursday.

Wasilla moves ahead to face West Valley today at 6:15 p.m. West Valley advanced to the semis with a 50-47 victory over Soldotna.

Imoe scored a game-high 25 points against the Malemutes to help her team improve to 2-0 in the event. Imoe hit 7 of 12 shots from the floor and was 11 of 19 from the free-throw line.

Alysha Devine added 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Kyla Dinkel pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Wasilla, the two-time defending 4A state champions, earned a spot in the tournament’s championship bracket with a 54-35 win over East.

The Thunderbirds led 16-14 after the first eight minutes, but the Warriors allowed only 19 East points during the final three quarters.

Dinkel netted a game-high 21 for the Warriors. Imoe added 19, and Savannah Burke pulled down a dozen boards.

Other Valley teams are also in the mix.

Palmer rebounded from a 53-44 first-round loss to Ketchikan to top Kenai Central 39-30 Thursday. Kourtney Straight led the way for the Moose with a game-high 15 points. Teammate Leya DePriest added 10. For the Kardinals, Sydney Taylor was the top scorer with 10 points.

For Colony, the Knights started strong with a 47-28 win over Bartlett on Wednesday, but dropped a close 39-35 decision to Kodiak on Thursday.

In that game, forward Mary Kalapperich was dominant with a game-high 17 points for Colony. For the Bears, Hannah Wandersee’s 10 points led a balanced scoring attack.

Houston 50, Service 21

In other girls basketball action Thursday, Houston exploded for 21 points in the third quarter of a 50-21 rout of Service on the Hawks’ home court. The Hawks held a comfortable 21-8 lead at the halftime break, but a 21-5 advantage in the third opened lead 42-13 going into the final quarter.

Leading the offensive explosion for Houston was guard Ne Ne Hale, who nearly equaled Service’s entire output with 20 points.

Wasilla 55, Lathrop 35

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Thursday, Dimond High

Wasilla 11-14-15-15—55

Lathrop 10-8-7-10—35

Wasilla (55) — Imoe 7 11-19 25, Devine 8 2-5 18, Dinkel 2 2-2 6, Burke 2 2-2 6; Totals: 19 17-28 55.

Lathrop (35) — Shaw 0 1-2 1, White 2 2-2 7, Addy 1 0-0 2, Talley 4 4-11 12, Hebard 5 3-5 13; Totals: 12 10-20 35.

Kodiak 39, Colony 35

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Thursday, Dimond High

Kodiak 11-4-11-13—39

Colony 8-10-4-13—35

Kodiak (39) — Wandersee 3 4-4 10, Horn 1 0-0 2, Nelson 3 2-6 8, Ng 2 0-1 5, Canon 4 0-0 9, Pyles 1 3-5 5; Totals: 14 9-16 39.

Colony (35) — Klapperich 7 1-2 17, Farris 2 0-0 5, Tweed 1 0-3 2, Michaelson 2 2-2 7, Solano 2 0-0 4; Totals: 14 3-4 35.

Palmer 39, Kenai Central 30

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Thursday, Dimond High

Palmer 8-12-12-7—39

Kenai Central 11-2-5-12—30

Palmer (39) — K. DePriest 1 0-0 2, Scott 1 5-7 7, Osiensky 1 3-5 5, Straight 7 0-0 15, L. DePriest 5 0-2 10; Totals: 15 8-16 39.

Kenai Central (30) — Taylor 2 6-6 10, English 1 2-4 4, Steinbeck 1 2-2 4, Norvelle 2 3-6 8, Ross 1 2-2 4; Totals: 7 15-20 30.

Wasilla 54, East 35

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Wednesday, Dimond High

East 16-6-8-5—35

Wasilla 14-12-13-15—54

East (35) — Motuga 3 0-0 6, Johnson 2 1-3 5, Richard 1 0-0 2, Manu 2 0-0 4, T. Manu 3 0-2 6, Page 5 2- 7 12; Totals: 16 3-12 35.

Wasilla (54) — Imoe 6 6-10 19, Devine 3 1-2 7, Hutchins 0 1-2 1, Dinkel 8 5-8 21, Edwards 1 1-2 3, Burke 0 3-8 3; Totals: 18 17-32 54.

Colony 47, Bartlett 28

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Wednesday, Dimond High

Bartlett 4-14-5-5—28

Colony 10-7-16-14—47

Bartlett (28) — Johnson 2 1-2 5, Lincoln 2 0-0 4, H. Johnson 1 0-0 2, Fraker 4 1-4 11, Stokes 1 0-0 2, Panoam 2 0-0 4; Totals: 12 2-6 28

Colony (47) — Klapperich 4 5-5 13, Farris 2 1-1 5, Tweed 3 6-7 12, Stephens 0 1-2 1, Turcotte 1 0-0 2, Brumbaugh 1 0-1 2, Michaelson 2 0-0 4, Solano 1 6-8 8; Totals: 14 19-24 47.

Ketchikan 53, Palmer 44

Lady Lynx Prep Shootout

Wednesday, Dimond High

Palmer 11-8-12-13—44

Ketchikan 14-15-8-16—53

Palmer (44) — DePriest 2 1-2 5, Scott 4 1-2 13, Straight 1 0-0 2, Blake 5 0-2 10, L. DePriest 6 2-6 14; Totals: 18 4-12 44.

Ketchikan (53) — Edwardson 0 1-2 1, Taylor 6 1-2 18, Simmons 2 1-4 6, Carson 1 0-0 3, Lindgren 5 6-7 17, Anderson 1 3-4 5, Brown-Harrison 0 3-4 3; Totals: 15 15-23 53.

Houston 50, Service 21

Thursday, Houston High School

Service 4-4-5-8—21

Houston 9-12-21-8—50

Service (21) — Chavez 2 0-0 4, Nanez 2 2-2 6, Hodson 2 0-0 4, Albee 1 0-0 2, Venable 1 0-0 2, Ihde 0 3-6 3; Totals: 8 5-9 21.

Houston (50) — Hale 7 2-2 20, Lee 0 1-2 1, Malidore 0 1-2 1, Wells 2 2-2 6, Nida 2 2-4 6, Daybado 1 4-4 6, Barber 1 0-0 2, Quincy 0 1-2 1, Irvin 3 0-0 7; Totals: 16 13-18 50.