There will be a new state champion in 2A girls basketball -- Northway shocked three-time defending state champion Yakutat 40-34 in the first round Thursday.
Northway will look to knock off another giant tomorrow as the Warriors meet eight-time state champion Ninilchik in the semifinals today.
The other semifinal features Skagway, last year's runner-up, against Cook Inlet Academy.
Northway 40, Yakutat 34
Northway went 18-1 during the regular-season and won the Central Interior Conference tournament, but they still were considered the underdog in their first round contest against three-time defending state champion Yakutat.
Yakutat led by six entering the fourth quarter, but Northway finished the game on a 19-7 spurt to advance into the semifinals. The Warriros were led by 15 points and nine rebounds from Desiree Demit and 13 points by Katherine Albert.
Northway was 17 of 26 from the free-throw line while Yakutat made only five trips to the line and converted one solitary free throw.
Karina Fraker paced the Eagles with 17 points with Tina Esbenshade added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Yakutat 11 10 6 7 -- 34
Northway 8 8 5 19 -- 40
Yakutat -- Fraker 17, T. Esbenshade 10, Jensen 4, E. Esbenshade 2, Israelson 1.
Northway -- Dillard 1, S. Albert 4, D. Demit 15, T. Demit 7, K. Albert 13.
Ninilchik 52, Noorvik 46
A 10-3 run at the start of the fourth quarter allowed the Ninilchik Wolverines to pull away from the Noorvik Bears, winning 52-46 in the first round of the 2A girls state tournament.
Lindsey Rohr scored 20 points and Lindsay Schnabl added 14 for Ninilchik.
Noorvik was paced by 18 points from Jessica Williams and 14 by Erin Zibell. Zibell also dished out six assists.
Ninilchik 11 12 13 16 -- 55
Noorvik 16 7 12 11 -- 46
Ninilchik -- Motoyama 6, Klein 4, Schnabl 14, Rohr 20, Smith 2.
Noorvik -- Williams 18, Zibell 14, Wells 4, Sheldon 2, Sampson 2, Jackson 6.
CIA 49, Point Hope 41
Tiana McGahan hit 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead Cook Inlet Academy to a 49-41 win over Point Hope.
Tiffany Smith added 11 points and four steals; Kelsie Leaf scored nine points and grabbed 16 rebounds; and Amie Smithwick finished with eight points and six steals for CIA.
Donna Nash scored 13 points and Chelsea Tooyak added 10 for the Harpoonerettes.
Point Hope 11 10 6 14 41
CIA 16 11 10 12 49
Point Hope -- Kowunna 9, Nash 13, Koenig 2, Lane 7, Tooyak 10.
CIA -- Smith 11, McGahan 11, Bauder 5, Arneson 5, Smithwick 8, Leaf 9.
Skagway 47, Chevak 34
Skagway dominated the offensive boards, grabbing 27 offensive rebounds and scoring 18 second-chance points in a 47-34 win over Chevak.
Kaylie O'Daniel led Skagway with 15 points. The Panthers led 29-6 at the half.
Misty Olson was the top shooting Comet with 11 points.
Chevak 4 2 8 20 -- 34
Skagway 14 15 7 11 -- 47
Chevak -- I. Nash 4, Anderson 2, Lake 10, Ma. Olson 5, Mi. Olson 11, Paniyak 2.
Skagway -- Surdyk 6, O'Daniel 15, Vogel 1, Ellis 10, Herbig 1, Leaverton 11, Henricksen 3.
By RICHARD LARSON
rlarson@adn.com