JDHS girls top Ketchikan to open 4A Region V tournament
- Klas Stolpe
- Mar 6
- 10 min read
Crimson Bears can earn region title over Lady Kings on Friday
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls survived an opening run by the Ketchikan Lady Kings in the Alaska Airlines Region V 2A/3A/4A Basketball Tournament on Thursday at home in the George Houston Gymnasium and earned a 55-36 win in game one of their best-of-three series.
“Regions is a huge deal and this is a great way for us to kick off the tournament,” JDHS senior Gwen Nizich said. “And carry the momentum into tomorrow’s game.”
JDHS had a 5-0 lead behind two free throws from junior Layla Tokuoka and a shot past the arc by senior Cambry Lockhart, but Ketchikan got scores from senior Kylie Brendible and sophomore Peyton Nickich and led 11-7 after eight minutes.
“I think the hardest part for us was overcoming nerves,” Nizich said. “This is the most people I have ever played in front of. There is a lot of energy, but you just have got to keep your head in the floor game and not anything else that is going on around it.”
The rollicking, fan-frenzied gym watched as JDHS started to impose their strengths in the second quarter with senior Raynona Fraker grabbing a physical rebound and hitting an outlet pass to C. Lockhart, who earned two free throws. Nizich earned a basket and a foul and Tokuoka scored seven points in the stanza as JDHS clawed back for a 24-20 lead at the half.
“I knew that they were going to be physical coming into the game,” C. Lockhart said. “We kind of started off very frantic and obviously the energy in the gym was crazy. So just settling ourselves down and running the offense loose and not frantic, like wanting to hit a shot right away and not going through our offense. I think we did really well on our offensive boards and that helped a lot to calm ourselves down. You get a board you get a put-back and it just kind of eases your mind a little bit as a team and makes you want to work harder.”
Tokuoka, Nizich, junior Sadie Lockhart and sophomore Athena Warr had a defensive stand in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Warr and Nizich blocked a shot apiece, and Tokuoka and S. Lockhart earned steals to score. C. Lockhart, S. Lockhart, Warr and Tokuoka would rebound four missed Kayhi shots in a row as the Crimson Bears would work to a 32-23 lead with three minutes left in the stanza. C. Lockhart hit a pair of free throws to answer a shot by Kayhi freshman Jazlynn Ramsey, and Nizich hit a basket for a 36-25 lead.
Kayhi sophomore Claire Ruaro scored to pull to 36-28 and Tokuoka hit two free throws for a 10-point lead with 50 seconds left in the stanza. Ruaro would score again and hit a free throw to pull to 38-31 with the final eight minutes remaining.
JDHS opened the fourth quarter with a rebound by Warr, who fed Nizich for a trip to the free throw line. Nizich then hit a shot past the arc for a 43-41 lead.
Kayhi grabbed the gymnasium cheering sections with a shot past the arc by Nickich, but Tokuoka gave the momentum back to the Crimson Bears as she pulled up for a shot from the arc and a 46-34 lead.
“Well, I was trying to run a play,” Tokuoka said. “I just saw my open shot. I know I missed a couple in the beginning but, you know, you have got to start somewhere, and that really gave me a confidence boost throughout the rest of the game and it really picked my team up.”
JDHS closed out the win with a 7-2 run.
JDHS can earn the region championship with a win against Ketchikan on Friday, in game two of their three-game series starting at 6 p.m.
“We just have to keep our head in the game,” Tokuoka said. “The student section, everyone is yelling, and it was a physical game but nothing we haven’t done before. I think as team leaders, us upperclassmen, we just have to keep each other’s head throughout the game and regroup as the game goes on.”
Added C. Lockhart, “And keep our level of game high, just play how we know how to play… Just leaning on each other to bring the whole team up.”
Said Nizich, “Definitely control the game and not play anyone else’s game. Pick each other up and encourage each other.”
Tokuoka led JDHS with 20 points, C. Lockhart and Nizich 12 apiece, sophomore Athena Warr six and junior Sadie Lockhart five. The Crimson Bears hit just two shots past the arc, 11 closer in and were 15-17 at the line.
Nickich led Ketchikan with 12 points, Brendible added 11, freshman Jazlynn Ramsey five, sophomore Claire Ruaro and freshman Sofia Schulz two apiece, and freshman Addison Secrest one. Kayhi hit three shots past the arc, nine closer in and 9-13 at the line.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
REGION V TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
3A GIRLS
Mt. Edgecumbe 64, Sitka 57
After trailing 26-21 at the half, the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves used a big third quarter to move into the lead on their way to a 64-57 win over Sitka in the Alaska Airlines 2026 Region V 3A Championship series on Thursday in Juneau.
Mt. Edgecumbe outscored Sitka 26-7 in the third quarter to claim a 47-33 lead, then held on in the fourth quarter to earn the seven-point victory and win the opening game of the best-of-three series.
The Lady Braves (17-3) overall, swept the regular-season series from Sitka, winning by scores of 57-49, 62-33 and 59-50. Mt. Edgecumbe will attempt to win the region title and a berth in the state tournament when the teams meet again at 3 p.m. Friday. If Sitka wins, a third game will be played at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Senior point guard Tahira Akaran led Mt. Edgecumbe with 23 points, including 18 in the second half. Junior forward Ashlynn Lonewolf added 15 points, and freshman center Evangeline Hank scored 13.
Freshman Addie Marx led Sitka with 23 points. Freshman Kensie Phippen added 10.
Mt. Edgecumbe 64, Sitka 57
Sitka 15 11 7 24 — 57
Mt. Edgecumbe 12 9 26 17 — 64
Mt. Edgecumbe — Tahira Akaran 23, Ashlynn Lonewolf 15, Gracelynn Friske 7, Evangeline Hank 13, Halena Slats 2, Charity Mila 4. Sitka — Ally Mayville 6, Maleah Partido 2, Evie Rice 2, Addie Marx 23, Penelope Blankenship 4, Thea Schumejda 1, Kailee Brady 9, Kensie Phippen 10.
2A GIRLS
Metlakatla 42, Petersburg 27
By Richard Larson
Ketchikan Daily News Sports Editor
The Metlakatla girls basketball team knew that earning the No. 1 seed in the Region V, 2A Basketball Tournament would mean their first game would start at 9 a.m., so the Miss Chiefs planned accordingly and looked prepared as they took care of business with a 42-27 victory over Petersburg on Thursday in Juneau.
After being tied 4-4 early, Metlakatla methodically pulled away behind an aggressive, hounding defense, leading 19-9 at the half and by as many as 18 points early in the fourth quarter before winning by 15.
“We had some 6 a.m. practice through the year to help us prep for that,” Metlakatla girls coach Mike Nigus said. “They kind of wore that like a badge of honor, to have that 9 a.m. game. They knew it could be tough, but they responded really well.”
After an 0-6 start to the season, Petersburg had played stronger at the end of the year, including getting a win over second-seeded Craig and giving Metlakatla all it could handle in 35-33 and 35-26 wins at Petersburg on Feb. 13-14.
“We knew they were going to bring great intensity. We knew they were going to bring hustle,” Nigus said. “The Petersburg coach is a fantastic coach, and he got that group of young ladies to buy in and believe and spend everything that they have. We knew we were going to get their best effort, and I think we did, but our girls executed the game plan that we had really, really well.”
The Miss Chiefs put the defensive clamps on, usually a physical style of play that racked up both turnovers and fouls. Senior guard Mia Winter led the defensive effort, diving on the floor to force numerous tie-ups as well as deflecting passes into turnovers and playing lockdown individual defense.
“Mia is a defensive animal. We talked about that coming into the tournament, that we needed our defense to set the tempo for everything else that we were going to do,” Nigus said. “It got to the point where sometimes we were a little too aggressive and had to kind of rein it in once it a while, but our defense did set the tempo for a lot of our success.”
On the offensive side, junior Baileigh Nelson entered the game off the bench late in the first quarter and immediately made her presence felt with a strong inside game that led to offensive rebounds and fouls. Nelson finished with 13 points, going 5 for 7 at the free-throw line, as well as grabbing eight rebounds.
“Baileigh has been the person all year long for us,” Nigus said. “She thrives coming off the bench. She likes to have a look at what people are doing. She communicates really well and has some basketball savvy that helps. We use her as a sub for both posts and she has more minutes than the starters sometimes. I can’t say enough about her being a team player.”
Senior Morgan Hayward hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points. Winter scored eight. Senior Saadiah Buffalo and sophomore Haylen Ladnier didn’t show up as much in the scoring column, combining for two points, but both played their share of irritating defense that kept Petersburg off-balance all game long.
“We played well enough that we had the opportunity to play everybody that came with us, and I think that will help give future Miss Chiefs and opportunity for growth,” Nigus said.
After the teams exchanged the first four field goals of the game, a 3-pointer by Hayward gave Metlakatla a 7-4 advantage that the Miss Chiefs never surrendered.
A pair of free throws from Nelson made the score 11-4 late in the first. Metlakatla went up 17-9 early in the second quarter on a bucket by senior Daycee King at the end of a nice passing play, but then both teams went more than five minutes without scoring. Nelson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback with 18 seconds left in the half to give the Miss Chiefs a 19-9 lead going into the break.
Metlakatla slowly added to its lead in the third quarter with Nelson finishing off the quarter with a three-point play and another inside bucket, both after grabbing offensive rebounds, to put the Miss Chiefs up 34-16.
A banked-in 3-pointer from Winter early in the fourth quarter gave Metlakatla a 19-point lead, 37-18, and the Miss Chiefs rotated in their bench players the rest of the quarter.
Metlakatla advances to face Craig in the 2A girls championship game at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Miss Chiefs and Panthers split four games during the regular season, each sweeping on their home floor.
Metlakatla 42, Petersburg 17
Petersburg 7 2 7 11 — 27
Metlakatla 13 6 15 8 — 42
Metlakatla — Ma’Karii Martinez 4, Gracie Booth 1, Mia Winter 8, Baileigh Nelson 13, Daycee King 4, Morgan Hayward 10, Saadiah Buffalo 2. Petersburg — Simone Nilsen 2, Lexie Tow 8, Natalee Bertagnoli 4, Cadence Flint 4, Rikke Miller 9.
Wrangell 32, Haines 27
It has been a rough season for the Haines girls basketball team as the Glacier Bears went 0-17 on the year, but Haines fought to the very end on Thursday.
After trailing 32-19, Haines scored the final eight points of the game, adding a little tension to the final moments before Wrangell was able to finish off a 32-27 victory.
The 27 points were the most Haines had scored in a game this season and the team’s closest game before Thursday was a 24-point loss at Petersburg.
But the Glacier Bears saved their best for last, falling just five points shy of Wrangell in their final game of the year.
Brylea Swaner hit a pair of first-quarter 3-pointers as Haines entered the first break down just 10-9. Wrangell slowly built the lead up to 19-11 at the half and 25-15 after three quarters before Haines made a final push at the end.
Brooklyn Nelson led Wrangell with 16 points. Alexis Easterly added 12.
CC Elliott paced Haines with 12 points. Swaner added 11.
Wrangell faces Petersburg at 9 a.m. Friday in an elimination game.
Wrangell 32, Haines 27
Haines 9 2 4 12 — 27
Wrangell 10 9 6 7 — 32
Wrangell — Hailey Cook 2, Christina Johnson 6, Alexis Easterly 12, AJ Roundtree 2, Selah Purvlance 2, Brooklyn Nelson 16. Haines — CC Elliott 12, Anna Bell 2, Mary Bell 2, Brylea Swaner 11.
Region V 2A Girls
Wednesday
No. 4 Petersburg 43, No. 5 Haines 17
No. 2 Craig 62, No. 3 Wrangell 32
Thursday
Elimination Game
Wrangell 32, Haines 27
Winners Bracket
No. 1 Metlakatla 42, Petersburg 27
Friday
Elimination Game
Wrangell vs. Petersburg, 9 a.m.
Championship Game
Metlakatla vs. Craig, 3 p.m.
Saturday
Second-place game, 1 p.m.
