Wasilla starters respond to first half ‘wake-up call’

WASILLA — Sometimes even the best team in the state needs some extra motivation.

Late in the first half, with the score knotted at 20, Wasilla head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax pulled the five players on the floor to the bench. And that’s where they stayed for most of the final three minutes of the second quarter. In their place, the Wasilla coaching staff inserted what is basically the program’s junior varsity starting lineup, and four sophomores and a freshman finished the half for Wasilla.

“Hopefully (it was) a little wake-up call,” Hebert-Truax said after the game. “If my top-7 aren’t going to do the job, I’ll just let my younger five do it.”

The coach’s message was received.

Wasilla started the second half with a 17-point run and held on for a 48-41 Northern Lights Conference win over the Kodiak Bears at Wasilla High School Saturday afternoon.

Even though Kodiak outscored Wasilla 4-0 during those final three minutes of the half, that stretch could be the key point during back-to-back wins over Kodiak.

“Those were all J.V. kids, and the J.V. kids stepped up and played intense and did what the coaches asked them to do,” Hebert-Truax said. “They were going after it and those other kids were sitting there watching that. They’ve been around my program enough to know that if they don’t get the job done, I won’t play them.”

Coming off more than a two-week break in the game schedule, Wasilla, the top-ranked 4A girls team in the state, struggled at several points during the series. Kodiak also led early during Wasilla’ 53-41 win over the Bears on Friday.

“It’s been a tough two days,” Hebert said. “We’ve had 2 1/2 weeks off, we can give all those excuses, but when it’s time to step out there on the court, they’ve got to play Wasilla Warriors basketball. I just didn’t see it the last two days.”

But in the third quarter on Saturday, fueled by improved play on the defensive end of the floor, Wasilla grabbed back the lead with the 17-0 run.

“We played defense,” Hebert-Truax said.

Senior Kelsey Cottle, who scored a team-high 14 in the win, started the run with a short turnaround jumper. Sophomore Alexis Imoe hit a floater to tie the game at 24.

Senior Celeste Colegrove followed a pair of Wasilla steals with easy baskets to give WHS a four-point lead, and Wasilla didn’t allow a Kodiak point until the final seconds of the quarter. Carissa Cannon gave the Bears their first points of the third with a rebound and put-back with 10 seconds left.

Kodiak did not let the top-ranked Warriors coast on Saturday. The Bears opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run. Kodiak’s Joanna Garcia scored eight of her game-high 16 points during that stretch, and the Bears were right back in the ball game.

Kodiak trimmed Wasilla’s lead to as little as two. Hannah Wandersee used a rebound and put-back to cut Wasilla’s advantage to 43-41 with less than two minutes left in regulation. Colegrove found the basket to push Wasilla’s lead back to four points and picked up a key steal underneath the Kodiak basket on the Bears’ ensuing possession.

Wasilla closed the game on a 5-0 run.

On Friday, Kodiak took advantage of a slow start and led 8-4 after the first quarter. The Bears extended their lead to 10-6, but Imoe put her team back in front with a three-pointer with 3:40 left in the first half.

That was the first of five three-pointers for the Warriors during the final 3:40 of the first half. Senior Hilary Apangolook fired a three on the next possession. After Kodiak’s Puni Timu followed a steal with a layup to tie the score at 14, Alyssa Hutchins hit the first of her four three-pointers in the game to give the Warriors the lead back.

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

Wasilla 48, Kodiak 41

Saturday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 12-12-2-15—41

Wasilla 14-6-14-9—48

Kodiak (41) — Garcia 6 2-2 16, Timu 3 2-2 8, Grupp 2 1-2 5, No. 24 1 0-0 2, Cannon 1 0-0 2, Wandersee 3 2-2 8; 16 7-8 41.

Wasilla (48) — Al. Hutchins 3 6-8 13, Imoe 2 4-7 6, Brown 1 0-0 3, Colegrove 5 0-2 10, Cottle 7 0-0 14; Totals: 18 10-17 48.

Wasilla 53, Kodiak 41

Friday, Wasilla High School

Kodiak 8-6-10-15—41

Wasilla 4-19-20-10—53

Kodiak (41) — Timu 4 3-5 11, Grupp 3 1-2 7, Juble 1 0-0 2, Cannon 1 0-0 2, Wandersee 5 3-3 13, Lampl 2 2-2 4, No. 24 1 0-0 2; Totals: 17 9-12 41.

Wasilla (53) — Hutchins 6 0-4 16, Apangolook 2 2-4 7, Imoe 3 0-0 8, Devine 0 2-4 2, Colegrove 0 3-4 3, Dinkel 1 3-4 6, Cottle 5 0-1 10, Johannes 0 2-6 2; Totals: 17 12-27 53.