West girls topple Thunder Mountain, West boys stun Dimond in OT to advance to 4A semifinals

The West High girls basketball team is used to playing high-tempo basketball.

While the Eagles didn’t have much to show for that much approach in the first half of their opening round game at the Alaska 4A State Basketball Tournament, their pace prevailed in the second half.

West dug out of a double-digit deficit in the third quarter, using turnovers and fast-break points to cruise past Thunder Mountain of Juneau 54-50 at the Alaska Airlines Center.

“We want to play fast,” West coach Stanley Engel said. “We played at a fast pace all year. For us it was, just keep playing our tempo and at a certain point, hopefully they wear down.”

For the first half and then some, Thunder Mountain was undeterred by the West style of pace. The Falcons led 22-17 at the half and shot out of the third quarter with a hot run, going on an 11-2 run in the first 2:30 to take a commanding 33-19 lead.

“Credit to them, they’re a well-coached team,” Engel said. “Their guard (Mikah Carandang) shot well and their (posts Kerra Baxter and Cailynn Baxter) were very tough to play against for us.”

But West started to chip away and with opportunistic defense and fast-tempo offense, the Eagles got back in the game.

“You just have to keep going,” Engel said. “At some point I think we were down 17. In that moment, it’s just go out and get a basket and get a stop.”

Jordan Zackery’s layup with 5:20 left cut the Thunder Mountain lead to 41-38. Ninety seconds later Jayla Speakman hit a turnaround jumper for a 42-41 West lead. Zackery led the Eagles with 19 points.

“I don’t think they’re used to playing at that pace at all,” Zackery said. “When we were playing at that pace in the first half they were keeping up but in the second half, we came and wore them down.”

West’s Kerra Baxter led all scorers with 21.

The win for West sets up a matchup with top seed and defending 4A champ Anchorage Christian School in Friday’s semifinal.

“We feel like we’re a dangerous team,” Engel said. “Everybody’s looking at the vaunted (Anchorage Christian School) team. We’re looking forward to it because they play the kind of basketball we want to play, fast and free, so we’re super excited.”

No. 2 Wasilla 60, No. 7 Lathrop 33

Wasilla post Layla Hays scored 24 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and collected six steals as No. 2 seeded Wasilla cruised into the second round. Wasilla used strong first- and third-quarter performances to earn the win. The Warriors outscored Lathrop 16-5 in the first and 17-4 in the third.

Hays, a sophomore, was joined by teammate Mylee Anderson in double figures. Anderson finished with 15. Lathrop’s leading scorer was Ashlyn Parduhn with 11.

No. 3 Colony 53 No. 6 Juneau-Douglas 46

Colony hung on to defeat Juneau-Douglas in the opening round, as Hallie Clark scored 22 to lead the team. Colony developed a small lead in the first half, leading 24-15 at half and extending that lead to 36-26 entering the final quarter. Juneau-Douglas had a monster game from Skylar Tuckwood, who led all scorers with 30 points.

No. 1 Anchorage Christian 82, No. 8 Dimond 22

The top seed and defending state champ ACS had no issue dispatching of Dimond in the first round. Sayvia Sellers led the way with 30 points and Keelie Kronberger added 16 for ACS. Morgan Maldonado rounded out the game’s double figure scorers with 10 for the Lions.

Boys

No. 7 West 69, No. 2 Dimond 63 (OT)

West stunned Dimond in a roller-coaster of a game, topping the No. 2 seed to move into Friday’s semifinals against Bettye Davis East.

Neither team could establish a significant lead at any point in a game that was a tug of war for four quarters and a four-minute overtime. West coach Josh Muehlenkamp said his team’s relentlessness is its calling card, sometimes to its detriment. But Wednesday, the Eagles used that unyielding style to force overtime with a late run and continued to push it into the extra period.

“That’s the way we play,” Muehlenkamp said. “We can be up 20 or we can be down 20 and we’re still in the game. I don’t know who is going to show up ... This is what I can tell you, we’re working and we’re going to give it our chance.”

It was West that appeared ready to run away with it early in the 4th quarter, taking a 46-39 lead when Buob Marial scored on a driving layup.

But Dimond continued to cut into that lead as Xzavier Baker asserted himself in the fourth quarter. Baker’s putback brought the Lynx to within three at 49-46. With just over four minutes left, he made two free throws to tie the game at 49-49. Baker was Dimond’s leading scorer with 21.

The Lynx kept the pressure on and when Luke Johnston made two free throws with 1:25 left in regulation, Dimond had surged to a 56-51 lead.

But West continued to work quickly and had cut her Dimond lead to 57-55 by the final minute of the game.

The with 22.6 seconds left, West guard Deslaone Cook drove into the lane and put up a spinning reverse layup that found the net and knotted the score at 57-57.

“I practice that (shot) so the repetitions for sure build my confidence,” he said.

Dimond had one final shot in regular but guard Marek Hajdukovich’s corner jumper bounced off the rim.

In overtime, West kept its foot on the pedal offensively and capitalized on some Dimond miscues.

Willie Zamora scored the first bucket of overtime and West got the ball back after a 10-second backcourt violation by Dimond.

West never trailed in the overtime but Baker hit a 3-pointer with 1:17 left to cut the Eagles’ lead to 62-61.

But Aarion Alexander converted a layup and West iced the game at the free-throw line in the final minute.

“Almost every game comes on the last few possessions really and it’s whoever works the hardest and wants it more,” Cook said.

Cook led West with 21 points and Julius Adlawan added 16. Luke Johnston added 15 for Dimond.

West was the only 4A team to top Dimond this year, and lost to the Lynx by just two points in the CIC Tournament. The two teams split four meetings this season.

“That’s a tough team right there,” Cook said. “They’re a great team with a great coach.”

No. 1 West Valley 60, No. 8 Juneau-Douglas 37

After being upset in last year’s opening round at state, the top-seeded West Valley boys made sure they were in no jeopardy of a repeat in 2023. Stewart Erhart scored 20 points and the Wolfpack led buzzer-to-buzzer to move into Friday’s semifinals.

West Valley led 32-14 at half, and even though Juneau cut into that advantage in the third quarter, the Wolfpack shot even better in the second half and pulled away in the fourth quarter. West Valley’s Malachi Bradley added 15 and Juneau-Douglas was led by Sean Oliver’s 12 points.

No. 3 Bettye Davis East 54, No. 6 Anchorage Christian 30

East broke open a close game in the second half, outscoring ACS 30-5 after trailing at halftime. Deshawn Rushmeyer led East with 12 points and teammate Akeem Sulaiman added 10. For ACS, Jephter English and John McGee each scored 11. After shooting 40% in the first half, ACS was limited to seven percent shooting in the second half.

No. 4 Monroe Catholic 45, No. 5 Colony 30

Monroe Catholic used smothering defense to move into Friday’s semifinal. The Rams held Colony to just two points in the first quarter and two in the second quarter to take a 17-4 halftime lead.

Monroe never looked back in what was an evenly played second half. The Rams were led in scoring by Jett McCullough (11) and Trevor Mahler (10). Colony’s leading scorer was Blake Dinkel with 11.

4A Girls

Wednesday

First round

No. 2 Wasilla 60, No. 7 Lathrop 33

No. 5 West Anchorage 54, No. 4 Thunder Mountain 50

No. 3 Colony 53 No. 6 Juneau-Douglas 46

No. 1 Anchorage Christian 82, No. 8 Dimond 22

Friday

Consolation

Dimond vs. Thunder Mountain, 12:30 p.m.

Juneau-Douglas vs. Lathrop, 12:30 p.m. at Auxiliary Gym

Semifinals

Anchorage Christian vs. West, 3:15 p.m.

Colony vs. Wasilla, 4:45 p.m.

Saturday

4th/6th place, 10:30 a.m. at Seawolf Sports Center

3rd/5th place, 10:30 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym

Championship, 5:30 p.m.

4A Boys

Wednesday

First round

No. 1 West Valley 60, No. 8 Juneau-Douglas 37

No. 3 Bettye Davis East 54, No. 6 Anchorage Christian 30

No. 4 Monroe Catholic 45, No. 5 Colony 30

No. 7 West Anchorage 69, No. 2 Dimond 63 (OT)

Friday

Consolation

Juneau-Douglas vs. Colony, 9:30 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym

Anchorage Christian vs. Dimond, 11 a.m.

Semifinals

West Valley vs. Monroe Catholic, 6:15 p.m.

Bettye Davis East vs. West, 7:45 p.m.

Saturday

4th/6th, 9 a.m. at Seawolf Sports Center

3rd/5th, 9 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym

Championship, 7:30 p.m.