The Wasilla girls and boys basketball teams are the favorites to defend their titles at the Northern Lights Conference basketball tournament, which will be held today through Saturday at Kenai Central High School.
Both squads of Warriors enter the tournament with a 10-0 conference record. Both also are tied for first place in the Class 4A rankings.
Even with the powerhouse Wasilla teams in attendance, though, the other NLC squads have a good shot at extending their seasons. The top three girls and boys teams advance to the state tournament at Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena.
The following is a closer look at each first-round game:
Kenai boys vs. Kodiak 5:45 p.m.
The Kardinals are the No. 2 seed from the Southern Division while the Bears are No. 3 from the north. Kenai has a 7-3 NLC record while Kodiak is 4-6.
In late February, the Kardinals lost a 53-52 game to the Bears in Kenai.
“The last time, we probably played the worst game we’ve played all year,” Kenai Central coach Jim Beeson said. “Everybody picked that night to not shoot very well.
“They play good, hard defense, so they definitely had something to do with it.”
The Kardinals are undersized, but Beeson said that won’t be an issue if his team plays hard and does the little things it takes to win. As an example, Beeson used his squad’s victory over Soldotna to close the regular season.
“We can create mismatches on offense just like the other team can create mismatches when we are on defense,” he said.
Wasilla boys vs. Homer 10:45 a.m.
The Warriors are the top seed from the north while Homer is the fourth seed from the south. In late January, Wasilla defeated Homer 63-39.
“It’s definitely an uphill task going against that ballclub,” Homer coach Mark Casseri said. “We’re going to have to play very good basketball to compete.”
Casseri said Wasilla is tough because Jesse Bean is probably the best point guard in the state and he has a great supporting cast.
Casseri said his team is peaking at the right time.
Last weekend, the Mariners defeated Kodiak for their first conference victory of the year.
“We’re starting to play team basketball,” he said.
Soldotna boys vs. Palmer 9:15 p.m.
The Stars, with an 8-2 conference record, are the No. 1 seed from the south, while Palmer, at 2-8, is No. 4 from the north. Soldotna is ranked fifth in Class 4A.
In late January, the Stars notched a 47-41 victory in Palmer. On that weekend, both the Kenai and Soldotna boys defeated Palmer and Colony, a rare sweep for peninsula teams over Matanuska-Susitna valleys teams.
“That’s so far away, with both of those teams being improved, so I don’t think that sweep is that big of an issue,” Soldotna coach Chris Hanson said.
Hanson said he is counting on team chemistry and depth in the tournament.
“We’re playing as a team,” he said. “We’ve become a very good team as the year’s gone on. We have to keep that in mind and depend on each other and trust each other.”
If a team doesn’t win its first two games, it faces having to win twice on Saturday to finish third. If the Stars go that route, Hanson said his team’s depth will hopefully be the difference.
Colony boys vs. Skyview 2:15 p.m.
The Knights, with a 6-4 NLC record, are the No. 2 seed from the north, while the 2-8 Panthers are the No. 3 seed from the south. In late February, Colony defeated Skyview 73-24.
“We’re as prepared as a team can be for Colony,” Skyview coach Red Goodwin said. “We’ve scouted them, watched tape and we know the things we need to improve on to compete with them.”
Goodwin said some solid performances against Palmer and Soldotna to close the season show his team is starting to believe it can compete with the region’s top teams. He said in order to compete with Colony, his team will have to control the tempo of the game and keep turnovers to a minimum. He said the Knights are very quick, and his team has struggled to handle quickness all season.
Homer girls vs. Palmer 12:30 p.m.
The Mariners, with a 4-6 record, are the No. 2 seed from the south, while the 5-5 Moose are No. 3 in the north. In late February, Palmer traveled to Homer and came away with a 58-51 victory.
Homer has battled injuries and illness coming down the stretch, but the Mariners have been to state the last three years.
“You’ve got to be confident when you go into the region tournament and believe you can do the job that needs to be done,” Homer coach Tim Daugharty said. “Hopefully, that’s a factor.”
Wasilla girls vs. Kenai 7:30 p.m.
Kenai Central coach Ken Felchle, whose team is 1-9 in the NLC, knows his team faces a tough task against the Warriors. Wasilla is great at pressuring guards, and Kenai will not have two of its best guards due to knee injuries. The Kardinals lost to Wasilla 57-28 in early mid-January. First Samantha Navarre injured her knee, then Sam Hull did the same in Sitka. Felchle said the way his team responded to such adversity has been great.
“In the last six home games, our girls could have done one of two things,” he said. “They could have folded the tent and stopped playing, or they could have continued to play hard. They didn’t do the first. The dug deep and played hard.”
Felchle said the key against Wasilla will be handling the Warriors’ pressure and getting the ball down low to Damaris Craig and Kyla Steward.
Colony girls vs. Skyview, 9 a.m.
The Knights, with a 7-3 NLC record, are No. 2 from the north, while Skyview, at 2-8, is No. 3 from the south. Colony defeated Skyview 56-37 in late February.
“That was one of the games, the most apparent games, that we did not come out ready to play,” Skyview coach Ronnie Kier said of the loss to the Knights.
Kier thought his team picked up momentum when it topped Homer and Kenai on consecutive nights. The next weekend, that momentum wasn’t there against the Knights.
“For some reason, they had an attitude about them that night (against Homer),” Kier said. “I haven’t seen it since. If they could regain it this week, it would be the perfect time for it.”
Soldotna girls vs. Kodiak 4 p.m.
The Stars own a 7-3 NLC record, good for the top seed in the south. Kodiak, at 4-6, takes the No. 4 seed in the north. Soldotna, ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 4A, defeated Kodiak 44-35 and 55-42 earlier in the season.
The Stars may not be healthy going into the game. Among those dealing with injury or illness are Karen Senette, Jenni Stenga and Karen Duffy.
Tuter said Kodiak plays tough defense and has a top post person in Alysa Horn.
He said Paige Blackburn and Christa Kennedy will have to have solid games against the Bears.
Soldotna has been one of the deepest teams in the conference, but if three players are out, the Stars will not want to play two games to make it to state Saturday.
“If we have them all, we’ll be fine,” Tuter said.
“If we don’t, we don’t want to trip up.”
High School Sports