Southeast 1A teams begin battles at state tournament
- Klas Stolpe
- 6 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Klawock boys win but Kake girls, Skagway boys and Hoonah girls all fall
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Kake sophomore Aurora Davis scored the first basket of the March Madness Alaska 1A/2A Basketball State Championships, but the Tri-Valley Warriors went on a 22-0 run to end the first quarter and pushed on to a 70-16 win over the Thunderbirds.
Despite a tough defensive effort, the Kake girls fell behind 45-10 at the half as Tri-Valley had 11 first-half steals that resulted in 18 points. Kake trailed 57-14 after three quarters.
“We played a tough Tri-Valley team with size and speed,” Kake coach Anthony Ross said. “We struggled early with their man-to-man and we couldn't match that same intensity on the defensive end. The girls stayed positive. No one got down on themselves or each other. They continue to work hard. I am most proud that they never gave up, again that mentality comes from my senior leadership. Looking forward to bouncing back for tomorrow's game. We set goals, we fail and we set new goals. We have our sights on playing every day and taking it one game at a time.”
Kake senior Claire Davis, junior Brooklyn Hallingstad and A. Davis led Kake with four points each, junior Madison Padgett and eighth grader Paige Johnson two apiece. The Thunderbirds had no three-point shots, hit eight field goals and did not go to the charity stripe. Kake falls into an elimination game at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
Tri-Valley freshman Lydia Miner scored a game-high 22 points, junior Faith Mudge had 16, senior Iris Wappel 14, Sierra Bohanan 12 and sophomore Logan Randall six. The Warriors hit three shots past the arc, 26 closer in and were 9-13 at the charity stripe. Tri-Valley advances to a quarterfinal at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
Boys - SHISHMAREF 67, SKAGWAY 50
The Skagway Panthers found themselves in a run-and-gun affair with the Shishmaref Northern Lights, and were outrun and outgunned, falling 67-50.
Shismaref senior Frederick Olanna scored the game’s first basket past the arc, but Skagway answered with two baskets from senior Camden Lawson that gave the Panthers their first lead of the game at 4-3.
Skagway would miss nine shots in the first quarter, but still were within 12-9 starting the second stanza. The Panthers pulled to within two points with a free throw by junior Ryder Calver for 12-10, a basket by senior Kaleb Cochran for 14-12, a rebound score by Lawson for 16-14 and three straight driving scores by senior Royce Borst that tied the game at 20-20 with 3:15 left in the half. Lawson followed a shot for a Panthers 22-20 lead, but Shishmaref senior Corben Nayokpuk hit from the arc to give the Northern Lights a 23-22 advantage. Nayokpuk missed from the arc on the next possession but was fouled and hit one of the three free throws for 24-22 lead would never be surrendered.
“We just came out flat and we didn’t have the energy to start the game, “Skagway coach Ross Barrett said. “The intensity wasn’t there that we have all year. We know we are better team than that. We have come into these situations before in the season and we always come back playing much better.”
Shishmaref opened the second half on an 11-2 run that included three straight shots past the arc from junior Ivan Davis-Nayokpuk, C. Nayokpuk and Davis-Nayokpuk and a steal and score by C. Nayokpuk for a 33-24 lead.
The two sides would exchange points and big plays with Skagway pulling to 39-30 on a drive by senior Camden Lawson, but Shishmaref closed the stanza with two steals that resulted in two scores from Olanna and Davis-Nayokpuk for a 43-30 lead.
The Northern Lights started the final eight minutes with a 20-3 run that put the game out of reach for the Panthers.
Borst led Skagway with 21 points, C. Lawson had 16, Cochran five, junior Malcolm Lawson three, junior Luca Tronrud and sophomore Zane Coughran two apiece, and Calver one. The Panthers made three shots from the arc, 20 closer in and were 1-5 from the line. Skagway next plays an elimination game at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
Olanna led Shishmaref with 19 points, C. Nayokpuk and Davis-Nayokpuk 15 apiece, senior Norman Stenek 10 and junior Jinsu Kim eight. The Northern Lights hit seven shots past the arc, 18 closer in and were 10-17 from the line. Shishmaref advances to a quarterfinal at 3:15 p.m. Thursday.
Girls - SHISHMAREF 62, HOONAH 37
The Hoonah Braves jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first quarter behind three steals by junior Easton Ross and another by sophomore Nevaeh Campbell. Those steals led to scores by Campbell on a layup, two shots past the arc by Ross and junior Jora Savland, and three free throws by Ross.
Shishmaref would battle back to trail 12-10, with two baskets in the last 15 seconds by sophomores Kyra Weyanna and Elizabeth Kokeok.
Hoonah again stole the ball twice to open the second quarter with Campbell going in for a layup and Savland earning two free throws. Savland would follow a missed shot as well to give the Braves an 18-11 lead.
Shishmaref made a 9-0 run behind two baskets by senior Loretta Sinnok and one each from Weyanna and Kokeok for a 20-18 lead. Hoonah freshmen Ava Hinchman and Charlie Jack gave the Braves the lead again at 22-20 but Shishmaref’s Weyanna stole a ball and earned two free throws and senior Bertha Nayokpuk stole a ball for a layup and a 24-20 lead at the half.
“We got out-hustled, out-rebounded, but we kept composure and worked on some different rotations on offense,” Hoonah coach Marlene Duvall said. “We just didn’t take a win.”
Shishmaref dominated the second half as Hoonah struggled to hit a field goal. The Northern Lights started the third quarter with shots past the arc by Kokeok and freshman Katesonja Fernandez that sparked a 20-0 run for a 44-22 lead over the Braves. Hoonah would not score until a minute remained in the stanza by Savland. Shishmaref led 49-27 starting the final eight minutes of the game.
“We have a series of goals this week,” Duvall said. “And several of those are still possible even though we are not going to be in the championship…We want to finish in the top 10. We definitely want to get as many games as we can out of this, ideally four is what we are shooting for. We don’t have any seniors on the team again this year so it is an opportunity to see how our different rotations next year will work.”
Ross led Hoonah with 13 points, Savland added 11, Campbell six, Jack five and Hinchman two. The Braves hit three shots past the arc, 11 closer in and were 6-10 at the line. Hoonah plays an elimination game at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Sinnok led Shishmaref with 16 points, Kokeok and Weyanna 14 apiece, Fernandez six, B. Nayokpuk five, sophomore Lexi Nayokpuk three, senior Julie Barr and sophomore Kiera Alanna two apiece. The Northern Lights hit six shots past the arc, 17 closer in and were 10-18 at the line. Shishmaref advances to an 11 a.m. quarterfinal on Thursday.
The 2A tournament begins Thursday. The boys games feature #1 Ninilchik vs. #8 Cordova, #4 Metlakatla vs. #5 Su Valley, #2 Unalakleet vs. #7 Tok and #3 Haines vs. #6 Tikigaq. The girls games feature #1 Seward vs. #8 Chevak, #4 Metlakatla vs. #5 Cordova, #2 Craig vs. #7 Su Valley and #3 Glennallen vs. #6 Unalakleet.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
