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Mar. 20—After being up by nearly 20 points over fourth-seeded Bartlett through the first three quarters of an opening-round game in the Alaska 4A Girls State Basketball Tournament, fifth-seeded Juneau-Douglas had to sweat out the final minutes of the fourth quarter for a 49-44 victory.
"Being calm and collected at the very end helped us out tremendously," Juneau-Douglas head coach Tonya Nizich said. "We fell apart for a couple of minutes and let them climb back into it. As soon as we calmed down, we started taking care of the ball and things started working better for us."
The Golden Bears began their furious rally with an 11-0 run to begin the final quarter and kept chipping away until it was a 3-point game with just over a minute left to play.
"Going up 20 on any of these teams is not enough," Nizich said. "Playing smart and making sure we're doing all the things that are working out for us and not slipping mentally in those moments."
Juneau was able to make some free throws in the final minute to cement their final margin of victory.
"We got a little flustered in the third and fourth quarter, but we were relieved when we sunk those free throws," said junior Gwen Nizich, who is a niece of head coach Tonya Nizich.
Teams typically aren't in a celebratory mood when an opposing player scores 22 points against them. However, when that player is Bartlett star freshman guard Kennedi Gaines, who averaged 27.3 points per game this year, holding her to under that gaudy average is viewed as mission accomplished.
"We've actually watched a lot of games on Kennedi Gaines, and we practiced for the last couple of weeks how we were going to guard her," Gwen Nizich said. "I think she did amazing, of course, but I think our team really utilized what we had been working on in practice to shut them down."
While the Crimson Bears double- and even triple-teamed Gaines, the player primarily responsible for guarding her was senior Cailynn Baxter.
"I think she did a tremendous job," Tonya Nizich said. "Kennedi is a very great player, and we talked about her a lot and about putting a lengthier person, on her and that's what we wanted to do to just give her something else with the length and speed Cailynn has."
Even though Juneau was up by double digits multiple times, the game didn't start the way they wanted it to. Bartlett came out firing with an 8-0 run to open the first quarter. Juneau-Douglas answered with a 10-3 run to make it a one-score game heading into the second quarter, and after going on another run to close the first half, the team never trailed again.
"They came out with a lot of fire and when we called that first timeout, we knew that it was game time," Gwen Nizich said. "We knew we had to come back and we just had some fire in our face and we came up."
Gwen Nizich recorded the second-most points of the game with 18.
"She was doing great inside and outside, going after rebounds inside and got hot on the 3-point line for a couple of shots," Tanya Nizich said. "Overall, she's a full player for us. She steps up in the heat of the moment."
The win not only snapped Bartlett's 20-game winning streak and marked the team's first loss since Jan. 3, it further underlined how competitive the 4A girls field is at this year's state tournament.
"I'm just thrilled that we get to be here as a team and advance and show everybody what we got," Gwen Nizich said. "It means a lot to play in front of all these people and show them how much heart we have when we play together."
Girls
Mountain City 51, North Pole 36
In the first game of the day in 4A, Mountain City pounced on the Patriots right out of the gate with an explosive first quarter, taking a 19-6 lead. It would prove to be the difference as the Lions would only outpace North Pole 32-30 the rest of the way. More than half of the Lions' total points came from the duo of senior Morgan Maldonaldo (17) and Keelie Kronberger (19), whose 36 combined points matched North Pole's entire team.
Wasilla 64, Dimond 28
The defending state champion Warriors barely broke a sweat in their lopsided opening-round victory in which they led 20-9 after the first quarter and outscored the Lynx 44-22 in the subsequent quarters combined. Wasilla's star senior tandem each scored 20-plus points with Mylee Anderson leading the way with a game-high 28 that included going 4-of-6 from behind the arc and Layla Hays recording a double-double with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Colony 54, West 46
The top-seeded Knights advanced to the semifinals with a close battle against the Eagles. Colony plays Juneau-Douglas on Friday with a chance to reach the championship for a second consecutive season.
Boys
Ketchikan 52, Dimond 48
Ketchikan narrowly outscored the Lynx in three of the four quarters and was able to avoid overtime by outpacing them 15-13 in the final eight minutes. The Kings had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by senior guard Gage Massin with 16 points. He was followed by junior guard Jozaiah Dela Cruz with 13 points and senior guard Marcus Stockhausen who had 11 points and a game-high six rebounds.
Bettye Davis East 52, Palmer 35
After a low-scoring opening quarter in which the two teams combined for just eight points, the Thunderbirds heated up in the second, outscoring the Moose 18-8 to go up by double digits. Leading the two-time defending state champions in scoring was star senior Muhammed Sabally with 16 points and fellow senior team captain Deng Deng, who nearly had a double-double with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Grace Christian 51, West 46
After getting doubled up on the scoreboard in the first quarter and trailing 29-21 at halftime, top-seeded Grace Christian rallied in the second half to avoid getting upset by the feisty Eagles. The Grizzlies had a trio of players reach double figures in scoring, led by junior Ashton Clarkson with 16 points. He was followed by fellow junior Bristol Tobin, who recorded 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Monroe Catholic 50, Wasilla 38
No. 6 seed Monroe Catholic outpaced the third-seeded Warriors by outscoring Wasilla in every quarter. Monroe Catholic had three players reach double figures, led by Jett McCullough, who netted a game-high 23.
Alaska 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
Mountain City 51, North Pole 36
Wasilla 64, Dimond 28
Juneau-Douglas 49, Bartlett 44
Colony 54, West 46
Friday
Consolation
No. 6 Dimond vs. No. 7 North Pole, 12:30 p.m. at Auxiliary Gym
No. 4 Bartlett vs. No. 8 West, 12:30 p.m. at Main Gym
Semifinals
No. 1 Colony vs. No. 5 Juneau-Douglas, 3:15 p.m. at Main Court
No. 2 Mountain City Christian vs. No. 3 Wasilla, 4:45 p.m. at Main Court
Alaska 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
Bettye Davis East 52, Palmer 35
Ketchikan 52, Dimond 48
Grace Christian 51, West 46
Monroe Catholic 50, Wasilla 38
Friday
Consolation
No. 7 Palmer vs. No. 3 Wasilla, 9:30 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym
No. 4 Dimond vs. No. 8 West Anchorage, 12:30 p.m. at Main Court
Semifinals
No. 2 Bettye Davis East vs. No. 6 Monroe Catholic, 6:15 p.m. at Main Court
No. 5 Ketchikan vs. No. 1 Grace Christian, 7:45 p.m. at Main Court
Continue reading...
"Being calm and collected at the very end helped us out tremendously," Juneau-Douglas head coach Tonya Nizich said. "We fell apart for a couple of minutes and let them climb back into it. As soon as we calmed down, we started taking care of the ball and things started working better for us."
The Golden Bears began their furious rally with an 11-0 run to begin the final quarter and kept chipping away until it was a 3-point game with just over a minute left to play.
"Going up 20 on any of these teams is not enough," Nizich said. "Playing smart and making sure we're doing all the things that are working out for us and not slipping mentally in those moments."
Juneau was able to make some free throws in the final minute to cement their final margin of victory.
"We got a little flustered in the third and fourth quarter, but we were relieved when we sunk those free throws," said junior Gwen Nizich, who is a niece of head coach Tonya Nizich.
Teams typically aren't in a celebratory mood when an opposing player scores 22 points against them. However, when that player is Bartlett star freshman guard Kennedi Gaines, who averaged 27.3 points per game this year, holding her to under that gaudy average is viewed as mission accomplished.
"We've actually watched a lot of games on Kennedi Gaines, and we practiced for the last couple of weeks how we were going to guard her," Gwen Nizich said. "I think she did amazing, of course, but I think our team really utilized what we had been working on in practice to shut them down."
While the Crimson Bears double- and even triple-teamed Gaines, the player primarily responsible for guarding her was senior Cailynn Baxter.
"I think she did a tremendous job," Tonya Nizich said. "Kennedi is a very great player, and we talked about her a lot and about putting a lengthier person, on her and that's what we wanted to do to just give her something else with the length and speed Cailynn has."
Even though Juneau was up by double digits multiple times, the game didn't start the way they wanted it to. Bartlett came out firing with an 8-0 run to open the first quarter. Juneau-Douglas answered with a 10-3 run to make it a one-score game heading into the second quarter, and after going on another run to close the first half, the team never trailed again.
"They came out with a lot of fire and when we called that first timeout, we knew that it was game time," Gwen Nizich said. "We knew we had to come back and we just had some fire in our face and we came up."
Gwen Nizich recorded the second-most points of the game with 18.
"She was doing great inside and outside, going after rebounds inside and got hot on the 3-point line for a couple of shots," Tanya Nizich said. "Overall, she's a full player for us. She steps up in the heat of the moment."
The win not only snapped Bartlett's 20-game winning streak and marked the team's first loss since Jan. 3, it further underlined how competitive the 4A girls field is at this year's state tournament.
"I'm just thrilled that we get to be here as a team and advance and show everybody what we got," Gwen Nizich said. "It means a lot to play in front of all these people and show them how much heart we have when we play together."
Girls
Mountain City 51, North Pole 36
In the first game of the day in 4A, Mountain City pounced on the Patriots right out of the gate with an explosive first quarter, taking a 19-6 lead. It would prove to be the difference as the Lions would only outpace North Pole 32-30 the rest of the way. More than half of the Lions' total points came from the duo of senior Morgan Maldonaldo (17) and Keelie Kronberger (19), whose 36 combined points matched North Pole's entire team.
Wasilla 64, Dimond 28
The defending state champion Warriors barely broke a sweat in their lopsided opening-round victory in which they led 20-9 after the first quarter and outscored the Lynx 44-22 in the subsequent quarters combined. Wasilla's star senior tandem each scored 20-plus points with Mylee Anderson leading the way with a game-high 28 that included going 4-of-6 from behind the arc and Layla Hays recording a double-double with 21 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Colony 54, West 46
The top-seeded Knights advanced to the semifinals with a close battle against the Eagles. Colony plays Juneau-Douglas on Friday with a chance to reach the championship for a second consecutive season.
Boys
Ketchikan 52, Dimond 48
Ketchikan narrowly outscored the Lynx in three of the four quarters and was able to avoid overtime by outpacing them 15-13 in the final eight minutes. The Kings had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by senior guard Gage Massin with 16 points. He was followed by junior guard Jozaiah Dela Cruz with 13 points and senior guard Marcus Stockhausen who had 11 points and a game-high six rebounds.
Bettye Davis East 52, Palmer 35
After a low-scoring opening quarter in which the two teams combined for just eight points, the Thunderbirds heated up in the second, outscoring the Moose 18-8 to go up by double digits. Leading the two-time defending state champions in scoring was star senior Muhammed Sabally with 16 points and fellow senior team captain Deng Deng, who nearly had a double-double with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Grace Christian 51, West 46
After getting doubled up on the scoreboard in the first quarter and trailing 29-21 at halftime, top-seeded Grace Christian rallied in the second half to avoid getting upset by the feisty Eagles. The Grizzlies had a trio of players reach double figures in scoring, led by junior Ashton Clarkson with 16 points. He was followed by fellow junior Bristol Tobin, who recorded 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Monroe Catholic 50, Wasilla 38
No. 6 seed Monroe Catholic outpaced the third-seeded Warriors by outscoring Wasilla in every quarter. Monroe Catholic had three players reach double figures, led by Jett McCullough, who netted a game-high 23.
Alaska 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
Mountain City 51, North Pole 36
Wasilla 64, Dimond 28
Juneau-Douglas 49, Bartlett 44
Colony 54, West 46
Friday
Consolation
No. 6 Dimond vs. No. 7 North Pole, 12:30 p.m. at Auxiliary Gym
No. 4 Bartlett vs. No. 8 West, 12:30 p.m. at Main Gym
Semifinals
No. 1 Colony vs. No. 5 Juneau-Douglas, 3:15 p.m. at Main Court
No. 2 Mountain City Christian vs. No. 3 Wasilla, 4:45 p.m. at Main Court
Alaska 4A State Boys Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
Bettye Davis East 52, Palmer 35
Ketchikan 52, Dimond 48
Grace Christian 51, West 46
Monroe Catholic 50, Wasilla 38
Friday
Consolation
No. 7 Palmer vs. No. 3 Wasilla, 9:30 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym
No. 4 Dimond vs. No. 8 West Anchorage, 12:30 p.m. at Main Court
Semifinals
No. 2 Bettye Davis East vs. No. 6 Monroe Catholic, 6:15 p.m. at Main Court
No. 5 Ketchikan vs. No. 1 Grace Christian, 7:45 p.m. at Main Court
Continue reading...
