Wasilla squads win region titles

The Wasilla Warriors broke out the broom and made a clean sweep in the Region III basketball tournament over the weekend. Both the boys and girls took home the tournament titles.

The Wasilla boys used a 13-6 advantage in the second quarter to get by the Colony Knights 54-49 in the championship contest. It was the third meeting between the Knights and the Warriors and the second straight with a five point or less margin of victory.

Wasilla's Buddy Bailey again proved to be a thorn in the side of Colony. Bailey hit five free throws down the stretch and scored a game-high 18 points in the win.

Just last week Bailey hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal a victory against the Knights at Colony High School.

Wasilla 7-foot center Ray Schafer scored just seven points in the contest, but Schafer's younger brother Luke chipped in 10 points.

Both the Knight and Warrior boys each earned berths in the state tournament.

The Warrior girls defeated Soldotna 44-36 to take the region crown. Marsha Schirack scored 14 points to lead Wasilla. Trista White added 13.

The Stars did not allow for an easy Wasilla victory. Soldotna led 13-7 after one quarter and 31-29 after three quarters.

The Colony girls also notched a berth in the state tourney with a 45-32 win over Kenai in the third-place match. Mallorie Eggers scored a team-high 11 points, while Kristina Klapperich and Jessica Dault each scored 10 points.

The Colony girls had a tough road into the state tourney as they played two games on Saturday.

The Knights defeated Homer 43-35 Saturday morning and had to turn around and defeat the Kardinals.

Klapperich scored a game-high 16 points in the win over Homer.

Both the Palmer boys and girls failed to advance to the tourney.

The Moose girls fell to Kenai 39-33 in overtime.

Emily Bolling led the Moose with 15 points. Toni Cox added eight points in her final game in a Palmer uniform.

The Palmer boys fell to Homer 68-53 in the consolation quarterfinals

Stanley Ratcliff scored a game-high 19 to pace the Moose.

Both the Wasilla boys and girls earned the top seed in the state tournament, March 20-22 at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Colony boys earned a three seed, while the Colony girls garnered a seven seed. For a complete schedule see page A11.