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While Colony and Wasilla's girls look poised to once again represent the Northern Lights Conference at the 4A state tournament, the third state berth is up for grabs.

The top-seeded Warriors and second-seeded Knights, both with NLC records of 8-2, are the best teams in the conference, Kenai head coach Stacia Rustad said.

"The rest are fighting for one spot," she said.

Her No. 1 South Division Kardinals (7-3) have the next-best NLC record.

"I think for the first time in a while the door is actually open for the Kenai girls basketball team, and the kids realize that," Rustad said. "I feel good that we are playing our best basketball when we should be."

The Kards are coming off of wins over Soldotna and Skyview. They open the tournament against Palmer at 3 p.m. today. The Moose defeated Kenai 45-43 in overtime the only time the two faced each other this season.

Rustad said as long as team members play their role, her team will find success in the tourney.

"We'll take it game by game," she said. "Over the season, we have progressed like we should."

Kenai isn't making the mental errors it was to start the season, Rustad said.

"I feel good and I know the girls feel good about where we're at," she said.

For success, Kenai has to shoot the ball well and continue to play tough defense as it has all year, Rustad said. Senior Lierin Flanagan and sophomore Bailey Beeson are two keys to that defense. They both have speed and can shut down opposing team's high-powered perimeter players, Rustad said.

"It's probably the most wide-open region since I've been the coach (at Palmer)," Palmer head coach Paul Reid told the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Reid took the helm of the Moose program in 2004. "There's not that one dominant team. Wasilla's playing really well right now, but it's regions and everybody steps up for regions," he said.

Wasilla comes into the tourney riding a seven-game winning streak. The Warriors have also won six straight in region play.

"My kids are playing well. They've had their best two weeks of the season when you want them to have it," Warriors head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said.

The Knights, too, enter the tournament on an impressive win streak. Following an early season loss to Kodiak, Colony has scored wins in eight of its last nine conference games. The Knights are the two-time defending NLC champions.

Wasilla and Colony are prime examples of the parity in the NLC. A coin flip decided the top seed after four tiebreakers couldn't determine an outright No. 1 seed.

The Warriors won the toss and face Homer (0-10) at 8 a.m. The Knights square off against Skyview (2-8) at 6:15 p.m.

SoHi plays Kodiak at 11:30 a.m. The Stars swept the Bears in a two-game series Feb. 19 and 20 at Kodiak.

On the boys side, Wasilla is the No. 1 seed, posting a perfect 10-0 conference record. The Warriors play host Skyview (0-10) tonight at 8:15 p.m.

"The regular season at this point doesn't matter," Wasilla head coach Ryan Engebretsen told the Frontiersman. "You have to be in the top three, otherwise the regular season is all for naught."

The 2009 4A state runner-up Stars (8-2) take on Kodiak (4-6) at 1:15 p.m. For success, playing the entire time is essential, SoHi head coach Matt Johnson said.

"If we can string together 32 minutes, we give ourselves an opportunity," he said.

The Stars have ample talent at the guard position, a positive heading into the tourney, Johnson said.

"I'm pretty comfortable with a handful of kids on the floor at that position," he said.

The top three NLC teams earn state berths, and Johnson has every intention on returning this year.

"We're going in there believing that we're capable of doing that," he said.

Kenai (4-6) plays Palmer (5-5) at 4:45 p.m. The Moose defeated the Kards 63-50 when they met in January.

During that meeting, Kenai played with Palmer the whole game, but had a two-minute letdown that resulted in an 8-0 run for the Moose, said Kenai head coach Ken Felchle.

"We cannot take breaks," he said. We have to play 32 minutes of basketball.

"We have to be disciplined enough to do the little things," Felchle added. "If we do those things, we'll have a chance."

It's crucial to keep the game close, as Kenai has trouble when falling behind by double digits, Felchle said. He said his team is peaking at the end of the season and gaining strength on the defensive side of the floor.

"We are finally figuring out how to play aggressive defense," he said.

Colony (7-3) faces Homer (2-8) at 9:45 a.m. All three of Colony's conference losses this season came to Valley rivals. Colony was 0-2 against Wasilla, and 1-1 versus Palmer.

Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz contributed to this report.