Wasilla girls win another title

WASILLA — The girls’ championship game of the Doc Larson Round Ball Classic was reminiscent of a big-time heavyweight prize fight. Defending Alaska Class 4A state champion Wasilla held off the Lake Washington Kangaroos of Kirkland, Wash., 47-38 and win the Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic.

Wasilla senior guard Alyssa Hutchins scored an easy layup at the start after junior Alysha Devine stole an in-bounds pass leading the Warriors’ full-court press. Wasilla fans are accustomed to seeing the speedy Warrior guards make easy buckets following steals.

But this would be the only such defensive incident in the game.

The first round of the bout started off with the champ and challenger exchanging haymakers. Each team would make a pair of three pointers in the span of just under a minute.

The tale of the tape was about even. Both teams feature guards with speed who can handle the ball and 6-foot post presences who can spread the floor by taking the ball out to the perimeter. Wasilla was virtually looking in the mirror on Wednesday night.

After a string of misses from beyond the arc for the Kangs, Wasilla built a small lead, but Hunter Hopkins, Lake Washington’s counter to Kyla Dinkel, sank a pair of free throws with 1:16 left in the first quarter to cut the Warrior lead to four.

Out of a timeout, Dinkel got the home crowd on its feet, completing a three-point play the hard way after she was fouled on her layup and made the free throw.

In the second quarter, with the Warrior half-court offense caught in a stalemate with the Lake Washington defense, Hutchins and junior guard Alexis Imoe took matters into their own hands. Using quick crossovers, each took the ball from outside the three-point line into the lane and made contested floaters. Without steals creating easy offense for the Warriors, the only consistent source of offense was the ability of the savvy Wasilla guards to penetrate the paint.

Coming out of the halftime intermission down 27-22, the Kangs further gave Wasilla a taste of its own medicine with a full-court press. Hutchins broke the press and started the half off with a deep three-pointer.

Wasilla battled in the fourth quarter to hold off a surging Lake Washington squad. After a foul, Imoe hit a huge pair of free throws. It was her first trip to the line where she hit both shots. And to calm down the fast-paced Kangaroo offense, the Wasilla defense denied an in-bounds attempt to Hopkins twice.

“We just went to a solid half-court, man-to-man defense and said you’re going to have to beat us with your half-court offense,” Warrior head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

With 2:55 to go in the fourth, Hopkins fouled out, virtually securing the victory for the Warriors. Hopkins hit two 3-pointers and nine free throws, scoring 19 points and defensively holding Dinkel to only seven points. Even with the absence of Hopkins, though, the Kangaroos weren’t ready to quit. Hutchins stole the ball from Sara Wilson and ran the floor to collect an open layup. But Wilson ran down Hutchins, one of the premier track athletes in the state, and swatted the ball out of bounds.

“We didn’t meet our goals. We were out rebounded, we didn’t reach our goal for shooting percentage. But the kids grinded and kept going and things weren’t necessarily going our way, but for the kids to pull it out took a lot of determination to keep going and win it,” Hebert-Truax said.

The Warriors were outrebounded 40-25. Hutchins, who was named the most valuable player of the Roudball Classic for the second straight year, led the Warriors with 15. Devine added 12.

The Warriors won their second consecutive Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic tournament championship and moved to 3-0 on the season.

Wasilla 47, Lake Washington (Wash.) 38

Doc Larson’s Roundball Classic

Wednesday, Wasilla High

Lake Washington 13-9-6-10—38

Wasilla 19-8-8-12—47

Lake Washington (38) — Lynott 2 0-0 5, Lively 1 0-1 2, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Dunlap 2 2-2 6, Hopkins 4 9-14 19, Wozeniak 1 2-4 4; Totals: 1 13-21 47.

Wasilla (47) — Hutchins 4 5-7 15, Imoe 3 3-7 10, Devine 5 2-3 12, Dinkel 2 3-7 7, Burke 1 1-4 3; Totals: 15 14-28 47.

Three-point field goals: Lake Washington 3 (Hopkins 2), Wasilla 2 (Hutchins 2); Total fouls: Lake Washington 18, Wasilla 18.

Wasilla 68, Kentlake 44

WASILLA — Kyla Dinkel and Alyssa Hutchins combined for 45 points to lead Wasilla to a 68-44 win over Kentlake (Wash.) on Tuesday.

Dinkel scored 23 points in the win and Hutchins added 22. Wasilla outscored Kentlake 18-6 in the third quarter.

Wasilla 68, Kentlake 44

Doc Larson Roundball Classic

Tuesday, Wasilla High

Kentlake 10-13-6-15—44

Wasilla 17-17-18-16—68

Kentlake (44) — D. Taya 2 0-0 4, P. Taya 1 6-8 8, Lytle 2 0-0 4, Straus 1 0-0 2, Luce 5 2-2 10, Simonson 2 0-0 4, Engeland 4 0-0 10; Totals: 17 8-10 44.

Wasilla (68) — Hutchins 10 0-0 22, Imoe 3 3-4 9, Koso 0 1-2 1, Brumbaugh 1 2-3 4, Devine 2 1-1 5, Dinkel 10 3-3 23, Garcia 1 0-0 2, Burke 1 0-0 2; Totals: 28 10-13 68.