Members of the Lady Kings team took turns cutting down the net after Friday’s championship win. (Screenshot from KPUtv video)
Ketchikan High School’s Lady Kings beat the Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School Crimson Bears 32-24 to win the 4A Region V girls’ championship.
It was a tight game in the first half. But in the third quarter, Ketchikan’s Lady Kings opened up a lead that would eventually propel them to a home-court regional championship.
The Kayhi girls are set to play in the 4A large-school state tournament in Anchorage later this month.
But the Juneau-Ketchikan rivalry went the other way in the boys’ championship game.
Ketchikan High School’s Kings opened up a lead over Juneau’s Crimson Bears in the first quarter. But the Bears surged back in the later frames to make it a nail-biter. Juneau tied it up in the final moments.
Then, as Kayhi inbounded, a steal, a buzzer-beating, championship-sealing basket by the Bears — and heartbreak for the Kings.
The 59-57 win sends Juneau’s Crimson Bears to the boys’ 4A state tournament.
Meanwhile, in the 2A tournament for mid-size high schools, the Metlakatla Chiefs beat the Petersburg Vikings 31-25 to punch their ticket to the boys’ state tournament in Anchorage. The runner-up Vikings beat the Wrangell Wolves for the second 2A state tournament berth.
In the 2A girls’ bracket, the Wrangell Lady Wolves beat the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs 26-21 to claim the 2A Region V crown and secure their spot in the state girls’ tournament. But the Miss Chiefs, undeterred, dominated the Haines Glacier Bears to qualify for state as the 2A Region V runners-up.
The 2A state tournament tips off on Thursday in Anchorage. The 4A tournament gets going next week, starting March 23. There’s more information at ASAA365.com.
