Sitka’s Mt. Edgecumbe girls roll past Monroe Catholic of Fairbanks in 3A state basketball semis

Mt. Edgecumbe girls basketball coach Candis Cook had a very clear mandate for her first season at the helm: Instill confidence in her players.

Mt. Edgecumbe, a public boarding school in Sitka with students over 400 students from more than 100 Alaska villages, had plenty of players. But most of them had competed at the 1A level. Playing at 3A would be a significant step up.

The Braves are brimming with confidence after defeating Monroe Catholic of Fairbanks 40-35 on Thursday to move into Saturday’s Alaska state 3A basketball tournament championship game.

“This is a new experience for them,” Cook said. “All of them are coming from 1A. The lights, the audience, the big arena, it’s nerve-wracking for them. But they’ve embraced it and have been patient and have let the game come to them. I’m really proud of them, and we’re going to keep pushing.”

Cook said she gave players a lot of freedom at the beginning of the season, allowing them to develop their games and then evolve as a unit as the season progressed.

“At the beginning of the season, I gave them a lot of choice,” Cook said. “There’s a lot of free play in our game, and because we did a lot of that early in the season, it helped them gain a lot of confidence in their own abilities and each other.

“Every little baby step of confidence they gained is really helping them.”

Cook came from Anaktuvuk Pass, and her players come from all over the state — Bethel, Akiak, Toksook Bay, Nulato.

Carliese O’Brien led all scorers with 16 points for the Braves. She said there were some early stumbles, but Mt. Edgecumbe has posted a 22-5 record and is the tournament’s No. 3 seed.

“(Cook) has formed a structure and it’s a confidence thing,” O’Brien said. “We’ve never been on a court like that but we were more amped and excited (than nervous).”

Monroe Catholic led 12-11 after the first quarter, but the Braves seized control in the second quarter and never looked back. They scored the first 13 points of the quarter on a variety of baskets and free throws to take a 24-12 lead. Monroe’s Tatyana Snowden scored on a putback late in the quarter for the Rams’ only points, and Mt. Edgecumbe led 24-14 at the half.

Cook said the Braves are usually a more fast-paced, full-court team. But conserving energy early gave the team a boost in the second.

“We’re normally a pressing team,” she said. “I think (Monroe) was expecting that. But my girls seemed a little winded, and with the excitement, it was killing their energy. So we sat back in the zone and just wanted to not force anything or rush anything and not kill ourselves like we’ve done in the past.”

Mt. Edgecumbe extended its lead slightly in the third quarter and while Monroe made a run in the fourth, it was too little, too late.

Tessa Anderson (8) and Bessie Williams (7) were the Braves’ next two leading scorers after O’Brien.

Margaret Zaveri led the Rams in scoring with nine points.

Grace Christian girls recover from slow start and pull away from Barrow

For the first time in program history, the Grizzlies will be playing in a state championship game after they defeated defending champion Barrow Whalers 61-50 in the semifinals on Thursday night.

It marked the second meeting between the two teams this season and the second straight year they met in the second round of the state tournament. This time around it was Grace Christian of Anchorage that advanced to the finals.

“We definitely wanted to get redemption for last year after they beat us and we lost our chance to get to the championship,” Grizzlies sophomore Sophie Lentfer said. “They came ready to play and worked hard. It was a very physical game.”

Before the top-seeded Grizzlies could punch their ticket to the 3A state title game, they had to shake off a slow start to the game in which Barrow opened with a 6-0 run and led for most of the first half.

“I think today we had a slow start but after halftime we pulled it together, got our energy up, and it was fun,” Lentfer said.

After cutting the Whalers’ lead to a three-point margin of 28-25 at halftime, the Grizzlies opened the second half with an 11-2 run to go up 36-32 before Barrow coach Makana Ahgeak called a timeout to try to get his team settled and back in the game.

However, Grace Christian didn’t let up and would go on to build a double-digit lead that the Barrow was able to whittle down to as low as four points for a moment but the Grizzles would bear down and go back up by double figures.

“At the beginning of the year, we lose that game by 15 because we would’ve fallen apart,” Grace Christian head coach Pete Johnson said. “They’ve matured a lot.”

Lentfer was especially key to the team’s success as a powerful presence down in the post. She finished with a double-double after leading her team with 16 points and 16 rebounds, both game-highs.

“I didn’t hit many of my shots, so I figured I had to make it up with put backs and rebounds,” Lentfer said.

Barrow had three players reach double figures in scoring and was led by Zadah Unutoa’s 15 points followed by Kiara Burnell and Kimberly Wolgemuth with 11 apiece.

Up next for the Grizzlies is a rematch with another team that they faced in the regular season. This time when face off with Mt. Edgecumbe, it will be for a state title.

“We will definitely have our hands full come Saturday,” Johnson said. “They’re a great team with a great coach.”

State 3A Tournament results

Girls

Wednesday

Grace Christian 56, Bethel 27

Barrow 47, Sitka 45

Monroe Catholic 53, Kenai Central 27

Mt. Edgecumbe 49, Valdez 34

Thursday

Consolation

Sitka 54, Bethel 29

Kenai 39, Valdez 28

Semifinals

Mt. Edgecumbe 40, Monroe Catholic 35

Grace Christian 61, Barrow 50

Saturday

Consolation

Sitka vs. Kenai, 11 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym

3rd/5th

Monroe Catholic vs. Barrow, 10:30 a.m.

Championship

Mt. Edgecumbe vs. Grace Christian, 1 p.m.