Craig and Metlakatla girls fall in state 2A semifinals, meet for third place
- Klas Stolpe
- 3 hours ago
- 9 min read
1A Kake and Hoonah girls lose final games in the state tournament
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Craig Lady Panthers and Metlakatla Miss Chiefs will revisit their Southeast Conference final, and season contests, in the third-place game at the March Madness Alaska 2A Basketball State Championships at 11 a.m. Saturday in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center - #2 Craig fell to #3 Glennallen 48-37 and Metlakatla fell to #1 Seward 53-23 in Friday's semifinals.
2A Girls - GLENNALLEN 48, CRAIG 37
The Craig Panthers ran into the Glennallen Panthers and fell 48-37 on Friday in the semifinals of the March Madness Alaska 2A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center.
“It was a hard-fought game today and I think both team played really well,” Craig coach Vanessa James said. “I just think Glennallen just executed better. They are a really good team, they run their offense well, they stay patient, they move the ball. They were just the better team today. Sometimes that happens. It doesn’t take anything away from our team, they are a great team as well. We’ll learn and grow from it. That is what the game is about. It teaches us life lessons that we can learn and grow from.”
The teams played to an even 8-8 first quarter with Craig seniors Ashlynn Smith and Abigail Patten and junior Sara Steffen providing the firepower.
Craig took their final lead of the game with a free throw by Patten to start the second quarter but Glennallen went on an 11-2 run to lead 19-12 and gain momentum.
“I thought we could have played better this game,” senior Chelsea Thompson said. “We were just really frazzled. Our main goal, I feel like, was to win regions and we didn’t really make a new one after that. We were just trying to do what we could and we kind of just forgot the whole point.”
Glennallen held a 21-16 lead at the half.
Craig made a run to pull to 21-20 behind scores from junior Sara Steffen and Thompson but Glennallen answered with a 7-0 run behind scores from junior Rene Rock Albert, senior Chisana Korth and junior Alianna Stone.
Craig’s Smith scored, but Glennallen ended the third quarter with a 9-4 run to lead 37-26.
“We started off attacking very well,” Craig coach James said. “We got downhill and we were looking to get to the basket. We got some fouls drawn on them and then in the second quarter we just stopped attacking…We stopped being downhill and stopped being tactical and disciplined on our own approach. They executed on offense and that hurt us today. When a team is that well balanced and moves the ball really well it is really hard to get defensive stops to close that gap and Glennallen did that very well.”
Both teams played even in the final stanza, each scoring 11 points with Craig’s Steffen scoring six and Glennallen’s Stone scoring seven.
“I feel like this season we have accomplished a lot,” senior Abigail Patten said. “This loss doesn’t take anything away from being a senior. The work that all us girls have put in, one loss does not define us. It doesn’t define our journey. It doesn’t define all the work that we put in together. We wanted to win regions, we wanted to make it to state and in my heart I wanted to make it to that championship so bad.”
In 2023, as freshmen, Thompson and Patten made it to state with the Panthers and placed fourth. The duo have been wearing the numbers 11 and 12 since the sixth grade.
“At this state tournament we have worked really hard,” Patten said. “No matter what I am proud that we are here and I am glad to be here. To make it this far, as seniors now, that is a huge accomplishment to come back and be better than the first time that we were here is a huge thing for me.”
Added Thompson, “I feel like Craig can make it to state again next year and a couple years after that because we have a lot of freshmen, like seven freshmen coming up, and they are really good basketball players. They put in the time and effort, and they don’t give up.”
Said Patten, “The younger players step up huge. There are times when we are in foul trouble and they send in the freshmen out there, and they don’t get all frustrated and frazzled, we carry them along and hold them up on the court…my teammate Ally Demmert comes in for me when I am in foul trouble and she holds her own weight.”
Steffen led Craig with 15 points, Smith added 11, Patten six and Thompson five. The Panthers hit 15 two-point field goals and hit 7-13 from the line. Craig will face Metlakatla at 11 a.m. Saturday in the third-place game.
Stone led Glennallen with 17 points, Rock Albert 11, Korth six, junior Kiana Cooley and senior Raylie Sutherland five apiece. The Panthers hit four three-point shots, 13 two-point field goals and were 10-17 at the line. Glennallen faces Seward, a 53-23 winner over Metlakatla, in the 6 p.m. championship game.
2A Girls - SEWARD 53, METLAKATLA 23
The Metlakatla Miss Chiefs ran into 27-0 Seward (55 in a row to last season) and became win No. 28 for the Seahawks, falling 53-23 on Friday in the semifinals of the March Madness Alaska 2A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage.
“They are a really tough team,” Metlakatla senior Morgan Hayward said. “They are really fast and that was not what we are used to. Their pressure was really good. We tried to fight through it. We knew they were the number one team in the state. It does suck to lose, but we did everything we could to win. They are a tough team.”
Metlakatla fell behind 14-4 after the first eight minutes and that margin ballooned to 26-10 at the half.
The Miss Chiefs hit just three free throws in the third quarter and trailed 41-13 starting the final eight minutes.
“Definitely a lot of pressure going into the game with them having the title of being undefeated, that is pretty hard,” Metlakatla senior Daycee King said. “That kind of got me this morning. We really tried to stick with them but they could not be stopped. We were really trying.”
Metlakatla just could not find a rhythm as Seward trapped full court from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
“I was already thinking about Craig in the next game,” King said of a moment in the fourth quarter. “They are the ones we lost to in regions. We are looking for the next game. But Seward deserves it, they are the one seed… And Craig is something, they are definitely our biggest competitor in our region. I’m excited. It is our all five seniors last game tomorrow. We’ll be listening to music to get hyped up.”
Junior Baileigh Nelson led Metlakatla with seven points, senior Saahdia Buffalo had five, senior Mia Winter four, senior Morgan Hayward and sophomore Haylen Ladnier three apiece, and King one. The Miss Chiefs hit three three-point shots, five two-point field goals and were 4-6 from the line.
Senior Mikinley Williams led Seward with 20 points, junior Grace Ann Fleming had 16, senior Ava Jagielski eight, junior Lia Shank five, and juniors Regan Seibert and Sevin Phillips two apiece. The Seahawks hit just one three-point shot, but scored 22 field goals and hit 6-18 at the line.
“They are 56 and 0 for a reason,” Metlakatla coach Mike Nigus said. “I just told our girls that we do what we do. We can control the things that we can control. We need to work on one possession at a time, one defensive set at a time and we really did. We tried hard. I felt like we played some good defense tonight. I felt like we grew as a team. I feel like we made some adjustments to try and adapt to their full-court press that were impactful and helped. That team was really good at keeping us off balance. But I am really proud of our girls.”
Seward advances to play Glennallen, a 48-37 winner over Craig, in the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday. Metlakatla will play Craig at 11 a.m. in the third-place game.
“When we played Craig in Metlakatla, we beat them,” Nigus said. “When we played Craig in Craig, they beat us. And we played them neutral for the championship, super-close game and Craig came out on top. We even talked about it there, that boy it would sure be nice to get one more chance to play them and here we are. I think we will rise to the task and get after it."
1A Girls - NAPAAGTUGMIUT (Noatak) 42, KAKE 27
The Kake Thunderbirds ran into a hot shooting Noatak Lynx team that hit seven shots past the arc to overcome a very cold first quarter and the Lynx turned the tables on the Thunderbirds to earn a spot in the consolation bracket finals at 8:00 a.m. Saturday.
Kake led 9-3 after eight minutes behind junior Brooklyn Hallingstad, senior Claire Davis and sophomore Aurora Davis and the Thunderbirds defense swarmed the Lynx.
In the second quarter Noatak flipped the switch and held Kake to just a single basket by junior Eden Hallingstad while Noatak freshman Frederica Walton had 10 points including two shots from deep past the arc and sophomore Gracelyn Adams hit one even farther to give the Lynx a 20-11 lead at the half.
Noatak pressed the entire second half and went up 31-17 after three quarters to take control of the game and hold on for the 42-27 win.
B. Hallingstad led Kake with 11 points, senior Lydia Chang added seven, sophomore Kristine Jackson-Williams three, C. Davis, E. Hallingstad and A. Davis two each. The Thunderbirds had two three-point shots, hit seven closer in and made 7-10 at the line. Kake’s run in the state tournament is over for this season.
F. Walton led Noatak with 17 points, Adams 11, senior Taylor Adams eight, senior KeeshaWalton four and sophomore Darlene Walton two. The Lynx had seven three-point shots, 10 closer in and hit 3-4 from the line. Noatak advances to play at 8:00 a.m. Saturday in the consolation final.
1A Girls - AKIUK 51, HOONAH 41
Hoonah freshman Charlie Jack hit the first three points of the game from past the arc for the Braves, but the Akiuk Grizzlies found three long-distance shots to take a 9-3 lead after eight minutes and never trailed in the game.
Akiuk seniors Teana Pavilla, Anisha Tinker and Jaylene Kalila spearheaded a Grizzlies offense that was unfamiliar from outside the far northern villages. The undersized Grizzlies proved to be ready to win on the state stage.
Hoonah played their opponents even in the second quarter with juniors Easton Ross and Jora Savland scoring seven and six points, respectively, as the Braves trailed 23-18 at the half.
Hoonah again played a strong third quarter but could not make a dent in the score despite getting two shots past the arc and two closer in from both Savland and sophomore Nevaeh Campbell.
The Braves trailed 31-28 starting the final eight minutes, but the Grizzlies came out on a 6-0 run for a 37-28 lead before Hoonah’s Ross scored to close to 37-30. Both sides would exchange baskets from the arc and closer in with Akiuk holding a 44-37 lead with two minutes left in the game.
A steal by Ross pulled the Braves to 44-39, but Akiuk would close out the contest on a 7-2 run, with two critical scores coming off fast break passes by the Grizzlies after a Hoonah missed shot.
Savland led Hoonah with 17 points, Ross added 11, Campbell nine, C. Jack three and sophomore Jenna Jack one. The Braves hit four three-point shots, 12 closer in and were 5-10 from the line. Hoonah’s run in the state tournament is over for this season.
J. Kalila led Akiuk with 14 points, T. Pavilla 11, sophomore Chloe Wassillie 10, senior Anisha Tinker seven, sophomore Amy Kalila six and junior Roberta Pavilla three. The Grizzlies hit five three-point shots, 15 closer in and 6-12 from the line. Akiuk advances to play in the consolation bracket final against Noatak at 8:00 a.m. Saturday.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
