Wasilla girls win fourth straight NLC crown

WASILLA — Last week, Colony upset Wasilla on the Warriors’ home floor.

Seven days later, the Warriors got their redemption and the chance to celebrate a four-peat. Wasilla used a 55-28 win over rival Colony to earn its fourth straight girls’ region title during the final day of the Northern Lights Conference Championships at Wasilla High School.

“It feels really good to come together and pull it out,” Azlynn Brandenburg, one of four Wasilla seniors, said after the win.

Brandenburg a four-year starter for the, now, four-time defending NLC champs is one of several key players on the squad who missed time during the 2017-18 season.

“We had a really tough year. I think we faced a lot of adversity,” Brandenburg said. “So many players have been injured. It’s really great everybody was able to pull it together.”

Wasilla was missing junior all-state point guard Olivia Davies during the loss to Colony last week. Brandenburg said the Warriors need to have Davies on the floor.

“Without Olivia we really don’t have a main point guard,” Brandenburg said. “It’s nice with Olivia, me being able to play my position, everybody else being able to play their natural position.”

Davies and Brandenburg sparked Wasilla early, combining to score their team’s first six points of the game. Wasilla led 11-3 late in the first and opened the second quarter on a nine-point run. Brandenburg hit one of her two three-pointers in the game midway through the second to give Wasilla a 20-9 lead.

“It was awesome,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said of the fast start. “The kids came out ready to play tonight.”

Brandenburg said that was the focus.

“That’s kind of what coach Hebert stressed,” Brandenburg said. “We came into this game with a great mindset, realizing we were going to have to work for it.”

Brandenburg shot 7 of 10 from the field and scored a game-high 17 points. Davies added 14 points on 4 of 5 shooting. On the defensive side, Wasilla held Colony to only eight field goals and 8 of 48 shooting. The Knights were 4 of 31 from beyond the arc.

“Defensively, it’s probably one of the best games we’ve put together for 32 minutes with no let downs really,” Hebert-Truax said.

The Warriors also out-rebounded Colony 49-20. Cheyenne Green led the Warriors with nine boards.

Senior Haylee Duguid supplied the bulk of the offense for the Knights. Duguid hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left in the first to cut Wasilla’s lead to five. She added a pair of threes in the second, including Colony’s first basket of the quarter at the 2:56 mark. She hit another three with less than 90 seconds left in the first half.

She finished with a team-high 10. Amanda Smith and Tori Schwantes added six each.

Both teams move on to the state tournament, slated to start March 22 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. State tournament brackets will be released Sunday night.

Palmer girls net third

A trio of seniors combined for 40 points and led Palmer to a 53-48 win over Kenai in the NLC girls third-place game Saturday afternoon at Wasilla High School.

Senior Julie Benshetler supplied a game-high 17 points in the win. Senior Cassidy Bowman added 11, and senior Bekkah Alley finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla 55, Colony 28

NLC girls championship

Saturday, Wasilla High

Colony 6-6-10-6—28

Wasilla 11-1915-10—55

Colony (28) — Hay. Duguid 3 1-2 10, A. Smith 2 1-2 6, Kenley 0 1-2 1, Bull 0 2-2 2, Schwantes 22-4 6, Simpson 1 0-0 2; Totals: 8 8-16 28.

Wasilla (55) — Brandenburg 7 0-0 17, Davies 4 6-6 14, Obremski 3 1-3 7, T. Anderson 3 0-0 7, Lawhead 1 0-0 2, C. Green 2 0-1 4, Titus 2 0-0 4; Totals: 22 7-10 55.

3-point field goals: Colony 4 (Hay. Duguid 3), Wasilla 4 (Brandenburg 3); Total fouls: Colony 11, Wasilla 16.

Palmer 53, Kenai 48

NLC girls third-place game

Saturday, Wasilla High

Kenai 19-9-12-8—48

Palmer 12-20-8-13—53

Kenai (48) — Calvert 3 0-1 9, Maw 3 3-3 9, Hanson 3 0-0 6, Carrasco 5 0-2 10, Satathite 5 4-6 14; Totals: 19 7-14 48.

Wasilla (53) — Busbey 4 0-0 11, Bowman 4 4-6 13, Benshetler 7 3-5 17, Alley 4 3-6 12; Totals: 19 10-17 53.

3-point field goals: Kenai 3 (Calvert 3), Palmer 5 (Busbey 3); Total fouls: Kenai 14, Palmer 10.