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Mar. 14—The most stunning result of the 2025 Alaska 2A State Basketball Tournament so far took place Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center when the lowest seed in the 2A girls division, Chevak, defeated top seed and reigning champion Metlakatla 34-30.
"It feels great," Chevak head coach Liana Pingayak said. "I know my girls worked so hard all season and no one really got a chance to see them under the spotlight, and I'm proud of them. They came out here and they're doing what they're trained to do and what they want to do."
There are seven seniors on this year's team who Pingayak says are determined to make the most of their last ride.
After finding out that they were the lowest-ranked seed and who they'd be facing in the quarterfinals, her message to the players was "the tournament is not over yet and we've just got to keep fighting and pushing."
"We were excited and looking forward to playing the No. 1 team because no one really got to see how we play," Pingayak said.
Neither team led by more than four points at any time, and the Miss Chiefs ended each of the first three quarters with a narrow lead. Metlakatla's biggest lead was a 10-7 advantage after the first.
The Comets just kept chipping away, and after trailing by a single point at halftime and the end of the third quarter, they used a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game at 27-22.
Metlakatla answered with a 6-0 run to retake the lead 28-27 but Chevak closed out the game with a 7-2 run to pull back ahead for good.
"They're a really good second-half team," Pingayak said. "They really know how to finish. That's one of their strengths. They finish strong and they fight down to the last second and I'm proud of them."
The only player on either team to reach double figures in scoring was Chevak senior Shanell Slats with 14 points. Both teams had a player record double-digit rebounds: Senior Laney Green led the Comets with a game-high 11 boards and Metlakatla's Morgan Howard logged a team-leading 10 boards.
Many people from the small Southwest Alaska community showed out in force, and were both loud and extremely proud of the impressive grit their hometown high school team displayed on the court.
"We're the only Kashunamiut (School) people in Chevak and I'm so happy to have their support," Pingayak said. "They just boost us. There's a lot of Chevakers living in Anchorage that came, and some of the girls' family members came down to watch them play. I'm happy that they did because it's worth the ticket."
Seward 49, Cordova 16
The Seward Seahawks dominated on defense throughout the game and outscored the Wolverines a combined 33-6 in the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach before the fourth even got underway.
Despite Seward winning in lopsided fashion, the only player on the team to record double figures in scoring was junior Mikinley Williams, who recorded eight of the her game-high 12 points in the first half alone. Her teammate, junior Ava Jagielski, nearly had a triple-double with eight points and team highs in rebounds with nine and steals with 10.
Unalakleet 44, Susitna Valley 28
Unalakleet pulled away in the second half of this tight, low-scoring affair. The game was still in question before an 11-2 fourth quarter run for the Wolfpack.
Unalakleet's Ourea Black had 14 points and Su Valley's Lily Esmailka led all scorers with 16.
Glennallen 37, Haines 22
Glennallen's big third period was all the team needed to advance to the semifinals. The Panthers outscored Haines 20-8 in that quarter. The total was more than Glennallen scored in the other three quarters combined.
Panthers senior Cheyenne Fields led all scorers with 11 points.
Boys
Metlakatla 66, Chevak 33
In the first game of the day, the Metlakatla Chiefs jumped on the Comets early and never let up as they outscored them in every quarter, including a sizzling hot 23-7 opening frame. They had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by senior Brody Booth, who posted 20 points to go along with a game-high six steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Seward 57, Wrangell 30
The Seward Seahawks were in firm control of this game midway through the second quarter, leading by as many as 14 points at one point before the Wolves rallied to make it a two-point game with less than a minute until halftime. A huge 3-pointer before the buzzer by Emerson Cross, who briefly left the game with an injury, gave Seward a little breathing room and increase their lead to five points.
Coming out of the locker room, the Seahawks continued to heat up on offense and clamped down on defense. They scored 29 points in the second half and only allowed seven as they pulled away for a comfortable victory in their 2A state tournament debut after previously competing at the 3A level. Player of the Game honors went to senior Talon Lemme, who was one of just two players to record double figures in scoring with a game-high 16 points.
Cordova 67, Susitna Valley 59 (OT)
After squandering a near double-digit lead at halftime by letting Susitna Valley outscore them 34-27 to tie the game up 53-53 at the end of regulation, the Cordova Wolverines clawed their way to victory in overtime. Leading the charge was senior Felipe Jacob, who had a double-double by recording a game-highs with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Susitna Valley also got a double-double from junior Austin Barnard, who led his team with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Unalakleet 50, Effie Kokrine 39
Unalakleet led by just two points entering the fourth quarter but broke away with an 16-7 advantage down the stretch. For Unalakleet, Isaac Smith scored 18 points to lead all scorers in the game.
ASAA 2A State Championship Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
Girls
Thursday quarterfinal results
Chevak 34, Metlakatla 30
Seward 49, Cordova 16
Unalakleet 44, Susitna Valley 28
Glennallen 37, Haines 22
Boys
Thursday quarterfinal results
Metlakatla 66, Chevak 33
Seward 57, Wrangell 30
Cordova 67, Susitna Valley 59 (OT)
Unalakleet 50, Effie Kokrine 39
Friday's semifinal games
Girls
Chevak v. Glennallen, 3:15 p.m.
Seward v. Unalakleet, 4:45 p.m.
Boys
Seward v. Unalakleet, 6:15 p.m.
Metlakatla v. Cordova, 7:45 p.m.
Continue reading...
"It feels great," Chevak head coach Liana Pingayak said. "I know my girls worked so hard all season and no one really got a chance to see them under the spotlight, and I'm proud of them. They came out here and they're doing what they're trained to do and what they want to do."
There are seven seniors on this year's team who Pingayak says are determined to make the most of their last ride.
After finding out that they were the lowest-ranked seed and who they'd be facing in the quarterfinals, her message to the players was "the tournament is not over yet and we've just got to keep fighting and pushing."
"We were excited and looking forward to playing the No. 1 team because no one really got to see how we play," Pingayak said.
Neither team led by more than four points at any time, and the Miss Chiefs ended each of the first three quarters with a narrow lead. Metlakatla's biggest lead was a 10-7 advantage after the first.
The Comets just kept chipping away, and after trailing by a single point at halftime and the end of the third quarter, they used a 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter to take their first lead of the game at 27-22.
Metlakatla answered with a 6-0 run to retake the lead 28-27 but Chevak closed out the game with a 7-2 run to pull back ahead for good.
"They're a really good second-half team," Pingayak said. "They really know how to finish. That's one of their strengths. They finish strong and they fight down to the last second and I'm proud of them."
The only player on either team to reach double figures in scoring was Chevak senior Shanell Slats with 14 points. Both teams had a player record double-digit rebounds: Senior Laney Green led the Comets with a game-high 11 boards and Metlakatla's Morgan Howard logged a team-leading 10 boards.
Many people from the small Southwest Alaska community showed out in force, and were both loud and extremely proud of the impressive grit their hometown high school team displayed on the court.
"We're the only Kashunamiut (School) people in Chevak and I'm so happy to have their support," Pingayak said. "They just boost us. There's a lot of Chevakers living in Anchorage that came, and some of the girls' family members came down to watch them play. I'm happy that they did because it's worth the ticket."
Seward 49, Cordova 16
The Seward Seahawks dominated on defense throughout the game and outscored the Wolverines a combined 33-6 in the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach before the fourth even got underway.
Despite Seward winning in lopsided fashion, the only player on the team to record double figures in scoring was junior Mikinley Williams, who recorded eight of the her game-high 12 points in the first half alone. Her teammate, junior Ava Jagielski, nearly had a triple-double with eight points and team highs in rebounds with nine and steals with 10.
Unalakleet 44, Susitna Valley 28
Unalakleet pulled away in the second half of this tight, low-scoring affair. The game was still in question before an 11-2 fourth quarter run for the Wolfpack.
Unalakleet's Ourea Black had 14 points and Su Valley's Lily Esmailka led all scorers with 16.
Glennallen 37, Haines 22
Glennallen's big third period was all the team needed to advance to the semifinals. The Panthers outscored Haines 20-8 in that quarter. The total was more than Glennallen scored in the other three quarters combined.
Panthers senior Cheyenne Fields led all scorers with 11 points.
Boys
Metlakatla 66, Chevak 33
In the first game of the day, the Metlakatla Chiefs jumped on the Comets early and never let up as they outscored them in every quarter, including a sizzling hot 23-7 opening frame. They had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by senior Brody Booth, who posted 20 points to go along with a game-high six steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Seward 57, Wrangell 30
The Seward Seahawks were in firm control of this game midway through the second quarter, leading by as many as 14 points at one point before the Wolves rallied to make it a two-point game with less than a minute until halftime. A huge 3-pointer before the buzzer by Emerson Cross, who briefly left the game with an injury, gave Seward a little breathing room and increase their lead to five points.
Coming out of the locker room, the Seahawks continued to heat up on offense and clamped down on defense. They scored 29 points in the second half and only allowed seven as they pulled away for a comfortable victory in their 2A state tournament debut after previously competing at the 3A level. Player of the Game honors went to senior Talon Lemme, who was one of just two players to record double figures in scoring with a game-high 16 points.
Cordova 67, Susitna Valley 59 (OT)
After squandering a near double-digit lead at halftime by letting Susitna Valley outscore them 34-27 to tie the game up 53-53 at the end of regulation, the Cordova Wolverines clawed their way to victory in overtime. Leading the charge was senior Felipe Jacob, who had a double-double by recording a game-highs with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Susitna Valley also got a double-double from junior Austin Barnard, who led his team with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Unalakleet 50, Effie Kokrine 39
Unalakleet led by just two points entering the fourth quarter but broke away with an 16-7 advantage down the stretch. For Unalakleet, Isaac Smith scored 18 points to lead all scorers in the game.
ASAA 2A State Championship Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
Girls
Thursday quarterfinal results
Chevak 34, Metlakatla 30
Seward 49, Cordova 16
Unalakleet 44, Susitna Valley 28
Glennallen 37, Haines 22
Boys
Thursday quarterfinal results
Metlakatla 66, Chevak 33
Seward 57, Wrangell 30
Cordova 67, Susitna Valley 59 (OT)
Unalakleet 50, Effie Kokrine 39
Friday's semifinal games
Girls
Chevak v. Glennallen, 3:15 p.m.
Seward v. Unalakleet, 4:45 p.m.
Boys
Seward v. Unalakleet, 6:15 p.m.
Metlakatla v. Cordova, 7:45 p.m.
Continue reading...
