Wasilla girls win NLC crown

WASILLA — During a semifinal win over Soldotna, the Colony Knights hit nine three-pointers.

And then the Knights ran into their nemesis, the Wasilla Warriors, who were as stingy as ever on the defensive side of the floor.

Wasilla held the Knights to only seven field goals and posted a 35-18 win over Colony during the Northern Lights Conference Championships girls’ title game Saturday night at Kodiak High School.

“We knew we wanted to play our half-court man-to-man defense, and keep everything in front of us,” Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said by cellphone from Kodiak Saturday night. “We did that for the most part.”

Wasilla held Colony to just two points in both the first and third quarters, and single digits in scoring in all three quarters. The Knights were held scoreless until Alex Carlton got a bucket late in the first quarter.

Hebert-Truax said it was important that Wasilla prevented a Colony squad loaded with three-point shooters from getting good looks behind the arc.

“It’s big. (Colony has) quite a few three-point shooters,” Hebert-Truax said.

Hebert-Truax said the Warriors also focused on not allowing those Colony guards to get a clean look at the basket, and penetrate.

Mallory Wheeler led the Warriors with 10 points in the win. Olivia Davies added eight. Carlton led Colony with seven points.

Both Wasilla and Colony earned automatic bids to the state tournament, which starts March 23 at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Wasilla is currently No. 1 in the Winning Percentage Index, the formula ASAA uses to rank its 4A teams. Colony was fourth in the ranking, released March 8.

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

Wasilla girls 35, Colony 18

NLC title game

Saturday, Kodiak

Colony 2-9-2-5—18

Wasilla 6-13-6-10—35

Colony (18) — Watson 1 2-2 4, Bull 2 0-0 5, Carlton 3 1-3 7, E. Smith 1 0-0 2; Totals: 7 3-5 18.

Wasilla (35) — Davies 3 1-1 8, Baham 1 2-2 5, Kelly 1 0-0 2, Brandenburg 0 2-2 2, Wheeler 4 2-2 10, Dinkel 1 2-4 4, Green 2 –0 4; Totals: 12 7-9 35.

Three-point field goals: Colony 0, Wasilla 2 (Baham, Davies 1); Total fouls: Colony 13, Wasilla 8