Port Alsworth girls rally with just four players to advance in 1A tournament
Mar. 18—The Tanalian School girls basketball team from Port Alsworth had seen it before.
After barely being able to form a team, the Lynx have played the entire 2021-22 season with just five players.
And Wednesday, they advanced into the quarterfinals of the 1A girls basketball tournament with just four.
Playing nearly the entire fourth quarter shorthanded after a player fouled out, the team rallied from a five-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to top Aqqaluk 47-44.
"What really helped us is we've been here before," Tanalian head coach Sarah Hummel said. "It didn't phase them. Had we not seen that earlier on the in the year I think it'd be a different outcome. I looked at them and said 'We've been here before and we've won here before.' And so they just pulled together and felt confident in themselves and never gave up."
The No. 11 seed in the girls division, trailed No. 6 seeded Aqqaluk 30-25 entering the 4th quarter. The situation got a little more dire early in the quarter as sophomore Brielle Loretnzen picked up her fifth foul and the team trailed by as many as 9 points.
But shots started to fall for the Lynx and they went on a run to claw back to within striking distance.
Shannon Ballot hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth to keep Aqqaluk in the lead.
"We've been with five all year so these girls have learned how to play through all the adversity that comes with just having five and that's what's allowed us to be where we are, the experience of having five the whole time," Hummel said.
Alianna Voran's layup with 40 seconds left gave the Lynx a 45-44 lead and she sealed the win with two free-throws in the closing seconds. Hummel said the team, which has no seniors, has already made gigantic strides to just qualify for state.
"I think that's the biggest thing," Hummel said. "We didn't know if we were going to have a team at the beginning of the year and they've just gelled as a group supporting one another and that's been the different between being at home and being here right now. It's really amazing to see where we have come from where we started. I'm so excited for these young ladies that have given everything they have."
Voran (18) and Ellah Wardell (16) paced the Lynx and Eva Johnson paced all scorers with 22 for Aqqaluk.
Shaktoolik 43, Skagway 28
Neither Shaktoolik or Skagway were quite in rhythm for the 8 a.m. early game. Shaktoolik got out to an early lead but scored just four points in the second quarter.
The team got going in the second half and Kayleigh Sagoonick scored 18 points to lead the way. Kelly Hunt added 12 and Skagway's Ava Myers led the Panthers with 10 points.
Tri-Valley 49, Pilot Station/Marshall 25
Tri-Valley's Brielle VanDeventer paced a balanced attack with 14 points and added 11 rebounds. The Warriors defense was solid throughout as Pilot Station/Marshall struggled to put together consistent offense.
Marisa Boliver led the way for PS-M and Melanie Randall added 11 points for Tri-Valley.
Klawock 57, St. Mary's 33
Kenai Holien won the 1A girls 3-point contest on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon she just kept hitting them.
Holien had the performance of the day for Klawock, finishing with 24 points, 10 steals, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. The senior made three 3-pointers and did a majority of her scoring in the first half. Klawock's McKinley Holien added 13 and Autumn Beans scored 15 to pace St. Mary's.
Shishmaref 62, Buckland 45
Shishmaref's Vicki Olanna led four teammates in double figures as the Northern Lights pulled away after the game was tied at halftime. Rena Kiyutelluk and Tricia Weyanna each scored 14 for Shishmaref and Buckland's Emily Armstrong led all scorers with 20 points.
Birchwood Christian 42, Akiachak 27
Birchwood Christian's defense was the difference in the second quarter as the Warriors never looked back. Akiachak outscored Birchwood Christian 26-23 over the other three quarters, but in the second quarter the Huskies couldn't find the basket. The Warriors enjoyed a 19-1 advantage in the quarter. Ella Phillips scored 14 points to lead all scorers. The Huskies were led by Keitha Phillips' 10.
Lumen Christi 48, Chaputnguak 26
Lumen Christi got off to a relatively slow start, but used a big third quarter to outpace the Shamans. Leading by just seven at half, Lumen Christi outscored Chaputnguak 19-8 in the third quarter. Emily Ross led all scorers with 18 for the Archangels and teammate Amara Warren added 14. No one for the Shamans reached double digits but Stella Abraham finished with nine points.
Newhalen 53, Nunamiut/Meade River 34
Newhalen used a dominating 2nd-quarter perforamcne to move into the quarterfinaks. The Malemutes outscored Nunamiut/Meade River 23-3 in the quarter and didn't look back.
Johnna Nanalook led all scorers with 17 points and Aileen Lester added 14 for the Malemutes. Arianna Hart contribued 11 points and 12 rebounds for Nunamiut/Meade River.
Boys
Klawock 56, Napaaqtugmiut 32
Marley Kness scored 24 points and added 13 rebounds to lead Klawock to an opening-round victory. Dalton Wyzykowksi added 14 more and eight rebounds as the Chieftains pulled away in the middle two quarters.
Napaaqtugmiut was led by Shane Walton's 11 points.
Shaktoolik 59, St. Mary's 57
Shaktoolik, the No. 3 seed, had a scare in the opening round against No. 14 St. Mary's. Walter Sipley scored 25 points include five 3-pointers as St. Mary's stayed close after falling behind by eight in the first quarter.
But Kaden Jackson had 24 points including six 3-pointers of his own and Dean Paniptchuk (14) and Marcus Evan (12) also tallied double figures for the Wolverines.
Nelson Island 69, Tanalian 53
Abraham Julius dominated for Nelson Island, scoring 30 points and tallying nine steals for Islanders. Asa Pitka added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Tanalian stuck around behind some impressive scoring of their own. Daniel Wardell had 28 and teammate Isaac Fowler kicked in 20 but neither were highly efficient and the Lynx shot 33% for the game.
McQueen 65, Hoonah 42
Abraham Swan put up a game-high 28 points for McQueen, which pulled away with a big 4th quarter. Brian Adams added 17 points and McQueen was opportunistic on defense with 17 steals.
Tyrell Cromer had 24 points to pace Hoonah but the Braves only had three players in the scoring column.
Maudrey J. Sommer 80, Aniak 41
Maudrey J. Sommer (Tanana) blasted off to a remarkable start and cruised to a first-round win. Tanana had four players in double figures and scored an eye-popping 34 points in the first quarter.
Savien Linnear scored 26 points to pace Wolves and John Erhart added 15. William Morgan paced Aniak with 18 points.
Lumen Christi 99, Alak 36
Lumen Christi dominated from the opening tip, scoring 58 first-half points to cruise to the win in a game that featured some high-flying dunks.
Robert Wilcox paced the Archangels with 35 points and both Timothy Bennett (28) and Brenden Gregory (27) had big games.
Shishmaref 66, Newhalen 56
Carter Kokeok scored 25 points to pace Shishmaref as the Northern Lights used solid defense to defeat the Malemutes.
Shishmaref's Timothy Stenek added 17 points and 13 rebounds while teammate Rjay Nayokpuk added 14 points.
Newhalen's Vinny Cobb led four players in double figures and David Miller tallied a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Scammon Bay 66, Nanwalek 48
Scammon Bay waited for the final quarter to really turn on the jets in a 66-48 defeat of Nanwalek. The Eagles led by just 2 points entering the 4th quarter but outscored Nanwalek 24-8 in the final period to breeze to a victory.
Carson Long scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Cassius Sundown chipped in with 17 to push Scammon Bay into the quarterfinals. Nanwalek's Matthias Evans led his team with 22 points.
Boys
First round
Klawock 56, Napaaqtugmiut 32
Shaktoolik 59, St Mary's 57
Nelson Island 69, Tanalian 53
McQueen 65, Hoonah 42
Maudrey J. Sommer 80, Aniak 41
Lumen Christi 99, Alak 36
Shishmaref 66, Newhalen 56
Scammon Bay 66, Nanwalek 48
Girls
First round
Shaktoolik 43, Skagway 28
Tri-Valley 49, Pilot Station/Marshall 25
Klawock 57, St. Mary's 33
Tanalian 47, Aqqaluk 44
Shishmaref 62, Buckland 43
Birchwood Christian 42, Akiachak 27
Lumen Christi 48, Chaputnguak 26
Newhalen 53, Nunamiut/Meade River 34
