Southeast 1A teams begin battles at state tournament
- Klas Stolpe
- Mar 11
- 10 min read
Kake girls, Skagway boys, Hoonah girls and Klawock boys 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.
Boys - WALTER NORTHWAY 64, KLAWOCK 60
Down by four points in their opening game at the ASAA March Madness Alaska 1A/2A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage, Klawock Chieftains junior Paul Lingley stole a ball from the Walter Northway Warriors and hit a corner shot past the arc to pull to 61-60 with 11 seconds remaining in the game.
Needing the ball back, Klawock was whistled for an intentional foul and Walter Northway sophomore Evan Nutting-Titus hit two free throws and the Warriors had possession of the ball. Nutting-Titus was fouled again, missing the first shot but icing the game 64-60 on the second.
Going into Wednesday’s game, Klawock knew they would have to deal with Walter Northway senior Terrance Nutting-Titus, who has 3,000 career points.
“We had a good idea about Northway,” Klawock coach Nathan Yockey said. “We knew that Terrance Titus was an incredible player — 3,000 is a big number. So we were trying to limit him and give their supporting cast the opportunity to beat us. Playing together was our big emphasis going in. And then sharing the wealth and swinging the ball around because we have gotten down on ourselves at times playing a little bit of iso-ball. So trying to play together was my message to the team.”
Klawock senior Connor Bagby would lead the way, scoring the first basket of the game and junior Paul Lingley added a driving shot to counter a shot past the arc by Walter Northway freshman Billie Jimmie. Klawock’s Lingley scored on a drive and then had a steal and another driving score to put the Chieftains up 6-3.
The game began to unravel after scores from Walter Northway’s Jimmie and Evan Nutting-Titus for a Warriors’ 7-6 lead. Klawock’s Bagby was whistled for three fouls in the span of three minutes and forced to sit with 4:29 left in the first quarter.
Walter Northway would go on a 13-5 run for a 20-11 lead after eight minutes and the Warriors opened the second quarter with six straight points on scores from Jimmie, T. Nutting-Titus and E. Nutting-Titus for a 26-11 advantage.
Klawock would bring Bagby back into the game and he had a fastbreak assist to senior Tristin Ryno, then answered a shot from the arc by T. Nutting-Titus with another fast break score. The Chieftains clawed back to trail 31-23 but Bagby was whistled for his fourth foul with 1:38 remaining in the half and Walter Northway would finish the stanza on top 38-25.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Yockey said. “Lots of guys in foul trouble. They were hitting lots of shots, killing us in transitition and we were still within striking distance. I told the boys at halftime, ‘We’ve got them right where we want them. We have played from behind a lot this season. We’ve struggled with foul trouble and we have always done well.’ I told my guys I have a lot of faith in them and the coaching staff has faith in them and we have them right where we want them.”
After a rebound score by Walter Northway senior Demarcus Brodie started the second half, Klawock went on a 11-2 run. Baskets by the Chieftains’ Lingley on an inbounds play, a fast break by junior Raymond Fairbanks, a lay-in by sophomore Dahani Peel, a shot past the arc by Peel and a driving score by Ryno closed the score to 42-36.
Walter Northway would push out to a 48-38 lead with under two minutes left in the the third quarter and Klawock’s Lingley hit from the arc, Ryno scored inside and Fairbanks hit a runner at the buzzer to close to 48-45.
“I had a coach in college that was in the Air Force,” Yockey said. “In the military they have this philosophy of being combat ready because you never know when the enemy might attack the base so at any given time you have to be combat ready. That’s what I tell my guys that are sitting on the bench, ‘You never have any idea when your name is going to be called… stay sharp and stay focused.’ It was clear that we had the next man up mentality, that we were ready to go even with our best player in foul trouble and being out almost the entire game.’”
The fourth quarter started with pressure defense forcing Walter Northway to call time out and when play resumed the Warriors’ T. Nuting-Titus scored on a rebound, B. Jimmie on a fast break and T. Nutting-Titus from the arc for a 55-45 lead.
Bagby returned to the court for Klawock and had an assist to Fairbanks before being whistled for his final foul and the Warriors trailing 55-47.
Klawock went on a 10-4 run behind a fast break from Fairbanks, a shot past the arc from Lingley, and an old-fashioned three-point play from Ryno to trail 59-57 with a minute remaining.
Walter Northway’s T. Nutting-Titus scored for the 61 and Klawock’s Lingley answered for the Chieftains 60. Walter Northway’s E. Nutting-Titus closed out the game from the line for the 64-60 final.
“We had a great opportunity, down one, going down the court, head of steam, it just didn’t go our way,” Yockey said. “I am really proud of them despite the outcome because they do what champions do. It was a similar message as after the region title game. Winning basketball games is a by-product of doing things the right way and can you be committed to the process of what you are doing without being emotionally invested in the outcomes.”
Lingley led Klawock with 21 points including five shots past the arc, Ryno added 15 points, Fairbanks 12, Bagby and Peel six apiece. The Chieftains hit 9-18 from the charity stripe. Klawock will play in a consolation bracket quarterfinal at 8 a.m. Thursday.
Jimmie led Walter Northway with 20 points, T. Nutting-Titus added 18, E. Nutting-Titus 13, Brodie 11 and freshman Cashis Demit-Albert two. The Warriors hit 15-23 at the line. They advance to a quarterfinal at 8 a.m. 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.
