Wasilla Warriors own top seed in 4A girls bracket

WASILLA — Colony upset Wasilla in the Northern Lights Conference Championships title game last Saturday. But that Colony win wasn’t enough to knock the Warriors off the top of the state’s girls basketball ladder.

The Warriors will enter the 2010-11 ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Basketball Championships as the top seed in the girls bracket. The Warriors begin tourney play March 17 against eighth-seeded Bartlett at 3:15 p.m. at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

Colony’s win over the Warriors did help the Knights improve their place in the standings, which are decided by ASAA’s Winning Percentage Index that seeds state tourney teams. The Knights jumped into the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Soldotna, an NLC rival, March 17 at 5 p.m.

Colony head coach Tom Lincoln said he is happy to see his Knights move up to the third seed, but would rather see a nonconference opponent.

“I hate to be playing a conference team, but we’ll go with it,” Lincoln said.

The NLC rivals met once during the regular season, with Colony scoring the 47-32 win at Colony High.

Colony and Soldotna share the bottom half of the bracket with seventh-seeded South Anchorage and second-seeded Juneau-Douglas, the defending 4A state champion.

Assuming the Knights see Juneau-Douglas in Round 2, Lincoln said it will certainly be a challenge.

“Juneau is the team to beat,” Lincoln said of the Bears, who are 2-0 against Colony this season.

Wasilla and Bartlett, the third squad from the Cook Inlet Conference, share the top half of the bracket with CIC champ and fourth seed Dimond and fifth-seeded West Valley, the Mid-Alaska Conference champion.

Wasilla, Juneau, Colony and Dimond have spent much of the season as the top four teams in the state.

“Like I’ve said all along, it’s going to be us four teams,” Lincoln said. “It just comes down to whoever plays the best basketball.”

Wasilla boys 6th, Palmer 7th

Wasilla and Palmer hold the sixth and seventh seeds in the 4A boys bracket, released Monday by ASAA.

Wasilla will open tournament play against third-seeded Service March 17 at 8:30 p.m.

Service finished third in the CIC tournament.

Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen said he thought the Warriors would be seeded at least fifth.

“But that’s the nature of the beast,” Engebretsen said. “You’ve got to play the games they throw at you.”

Wasilla did not face Service this year, but Engebretsen said he has seen the Cougars play.

“I think we match up really well,” Engebretsen said.

Wasilla is on the same side of the bracket as Palmer. The Moose open tourney play against CIC runner-up West Anchorage, the No. 2 seed, March 17 at 6:45 p.m.

Wasilla is the NLC champion and Palmer finished third in the conference.

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