Friday’s Northern Lights Conference tilt featuring the Kenai Central and Colony girls basketball squads saw a one-sided matchup in the second half — the Knights’ offense against Kenai’s Abby Beck.
Beck scored 14 of her game-high 22 points in the second half — accounting for every Kenai bucket — but the Kards still fell to the Knights 42-35.
Colony (2-0 NLC, 6-2 overall) also hit 17 of 29 free throws, more than enough to account for the difference in the game, which came down to a stifling Knights defensive effort in the fourth quarter. Kenai was held to three points in the last eight minutes.
“(Kenai coach) Stacia (Rustad) does a terrific job year in and year out getting her girls to play unbelievably hard,” said Colony coach Jeff Bowker. “They played harder than we did, and as a result, we were looking up at them for three quarters.”
The Kards shot out of the gate with 16 points in the first quarter, getting buckets to fall from Beck and Alli Steinbeck, while keeping Colony to 10 points. Kenai held a precarious 21-19 lead at halftime.
“That was all about Kenai the first three quarters,” Bowker said.
Faith Farris led Colony with 17 points overall, and opened the second half with a jumper to tie things up. From there, Farris and company traded buckets with Beck, who drained five shots in the third quarter with well-timed assists from teammates Hannah Drury and Allie Ostrander.
Beck continued her scoring charge, but it was only lasted so long. Farris and Ashley Turcotte fought back and gave Colony its first lead of the night with 45 seconds left in the third quarter on a Farris jump shot. Turcotte ended the night with 10 points.
After Beck sent in a layup with 4:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to close Kenai’s deficit to 37-34, Teyah Clark answered 20 seconds later with a layup of her own to stretch the lead once again. From there, Colony converted three of its next six free throws to ice the game.
“We were able to execute and make a few shots and get a little distance, and then hold on to it at the end,” Bowker said. “I don’t know what (Kenai’s) shooting percentage was in the first half, but it was pretty good. Then they started missing.”
Colony boys 57, Kenai 45
Bumps, bruises and blood could not keep the Kenai boys from trying to upset the Knights on Friday night, but in the end, Colony still took the win.
Eight different players starred in the scoring column for Colony (2-0 NLC, 8-5 overall), led by Tucker Looney and Ethan Selmer with 11 points each. Bailey West and Robert Sonnenberg added 10 points apiece as well.
Josh Jackman led the Kardinals with 12 points, while Austin Brazell scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.
The Knights started fast, streaking out to a 15-6 lead in the first 5:32 of the game, and held a 20-10 lead after one quarter.
“Our message tonight was to come out and compete,” said Kenai coach Ken Felchle. “The first quarter, we gave them 20 points, and it just wasn’t enough.”
Colony coach Tom Berg said the focus of his squad was simply pointed to their offensive production, rather than depending on trying to slow the Kenai offense.
“It was more about us, and whether or not our guys could do their job,” Berg said.
Not only did Colony keep Kenai guessing on who was going to score, but they pounded the glass as well, racking up offensive rebounds to chip in second-chance opportunities that resulted in a 37-22 halftime lead.
Kenai came up with a few stretches of spectacular on-court play, like when Brazell and Marshall Vest hit consecutive 3s late in the third quarter that left Kenai trailing 41-28, within striking distance.
But Felchle didn’t mince words when asked about the individual matchups, saying that his squad is giving up “15 to 20 pounds and a few inches at every position.”
“That’s hard to deal with,” he said. “In the second half, we dealt with that a lot better. But they’re a very well-coached team with a lot of size. A combination of those things give us a lot of trouble.”
It seemed like a battle at times. In the second half, Brazell took a hit while scrambling on the floor for a loose ball and took a few extra moments to gather himself before walking gingerly off the floor. Late in the fourth quarter, Kenai senior Jonah Theisen suffered a mouth full of blood after a scramble under the net resulted in an elbow to the jaw.
For Felchle, a former member of the United States Army, it was part of the fight for the win.
“For us to be able to compete against a team of that caliber, we have to play as hard as we did in the second half, the entire game,” Felchle said. “It’s got to be 32 minutes.”
Ultimately, the Knights iced the game with a few late shots. Looney sank a trey with 2:50 remaining in the game that left Colony with a commanding 17-point lead and ended all hope of a Kenai comeback.
Wasilla girls 46, Kenai 32
The visiting Warriors pulled away from the Kardinals in the fourth quarter for the victory.
Wasilla led the tight, defensive affair 12-6 after one quarter and 24-16 at the half. But by the end of the third quarter, Kenai had chopped the lead to 30-27. However, the Warriors controlled the final eight minutes.
Leya DePriest had 14 points for the Warriors before fouling out, while Cassidy Edwards pitched in 10. For Kenai, Abby Beck led the way with nine points.
Wasilla boys 52, Kenai 50
The visiting Warriors held off the Kardinals for a Northern Lights Conference victory Saturday.
Wasilla led 26-16 at the half, but Kenai burst into a 40-39 lead after three quarters.
Josh Jackman had a big night for the Kardinals, scoring 18 points. Keith Ivy added 13.
For Wasilla, Isaac Houck had 18 points and Alex Baham added 13.
Friday girls
Knights 42, Kardinals 35
Colony 10 9 14 9 —42
Kenai 16 5 11 3 —35
COLONY (42) — Carlton 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Farris 6 4-6 17, Stephens 0 4-6 4, Clark 1 2-3 4, Turcotte 4 2-6 10, Brumbaugh 1 4-6 6, Kauffman 0 0-2 0, Bonn 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 17-29 42.
KENAI (35) — Ostrander 2 0-0 4, Holmes 0 0-0 0, Drury 0 0-2 0, Steinbeck 2 2-4 6, Baker 0 0-0 0, Beck 9 4-5 22, Every 1 1-2 3. Totals 14 7-13 35.
3-point goals — Colony 1 (Farris). Fouled out — Stephens, Steinbeck.
Friday boys
Knights 57, Kardinals 45
Colony 20 17 7 13 —57
Kenai 10 12 9 14 —45
COLONY (57) — Looney 5 0-1 11, West 5 0-1 10, Chamblee 1 0-0 3, Martin 0 0-0 0, Menard 0 5-6 5, Martin 0 0-2 0, Dinkel 1 1-2 3, Sonnenberg 1 8-8 10, Lincoln 2 0-0 4, Sessom 0 0-0 0, Selmer 4 1-2 11. Totals 19 15-22 57.
KENAI (45) — Theisen 1 0-0 2, Ivy 0 1-2 1, McKee 1 4-4 7, Brazell 4 0-0 10, Jackman 4 2-2 12, Vest 1 0-2 3, Foree 2 2-2 6, Wortham 1 2-2 4. Totals 14 11-14 45.
3-point goals — Colony 4 (Selmer 2, Looney 1, Chamblee 1); Kenai 6 (Brazell 2, Jackman 2, McKee 1, Vest 1). Fouled out — none.
Saturday girls
Warriors 46, Kardinals 32
Wasilla 12 12 6 16 —46
Kenai 6 10 11 5 —32
WASILLA (46) — Kelly 1 1-2 4, Drorbaugh 0 0-0 0, Heath 0 0-0 0, Baham 1 0-0 2, Lindeman 0 0-0 0, Brandenburg 2 0-0 4, Goecke 0 0-0 0, Toews 1 6-8 8, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Dinkel 2 0-0 4, Edwards 3 4-6 10, DePriest 5 4-5 14. Totals — 15 15-21 46.
KENAI (32) — Ostrander 2 0-2 4, Holmes 1 0-0 2, Drury 1 2-5 4, Steinbeck 2 1-4 5, Baker 0 1-2 1, Booth 0 0-0 0, Beck 3 3-4 9, Every 3 0-0 7. Totals — 12 7-17 32.
3-point goals — Wasilla 1 (Kelly); Kenai 1 (Every). Team fouls — Wasilla 16, Kenai 18. Fouled out — DePriest.
Saturday boys
Warriors 52, Kardinals 50
Wasilla 12 14 13 13 —52
Kenai 8 8 24 10 —50
WASILLA (52) — Burns 2 0-0 4, Milleron 1 2-2 4, Trotta-Mirigliano 1 2-2 4, Baham 5 2-3 13, Garnett 4 1-2 9, Houck 7 4-5 18, Lee 0 0-0 0. Totals — 20 11-14 52.
KENAI CENTRAL (50) — Theisen 0 0-0 0, Ivy 5 1-2 13, McKee 1 1-2 3, Brazell 2 0-0 4, Jackman 8 0-0 18, Vest 2 0-0 6, Foree 1 2-2 4, Dye 0 0-0 0, Wortham 1 0-0 2. Totals — 20 4-6 50.
3-point goals — Wasilla 1 (Baham); Kenai 6 (Ivy 2, Jackman 2, Vest 2). Team fouls — Wasilla 11, Kenai 17. Fouled out — none.
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion Kenai’s Keith Ivy looks for an opening to pass during their game against the Colony on Friday Jan. 22, 2014 in Kenai, Alaska.
