The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls played their hearts out Saturday in a 57-37 loss to the Mountain City Christian Academy Lions in the 3rd/5th-place game of the 2025 ASAA March Madness Alaska 3A/4A Basketball State Championships in Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center.

“I’m very pleased with our effort,” JDHS coach Tanya Nizich said. “I thought this was some of the best basketball that we played in a while. Mountain City is a tremendous team, they’ve got scorers in all positions and our defense in drawing some fouls on some of their key players was just really good defense on our end. Sure some shots of ours could have fell a little bit more and getting the ball inside and up, but overall I was really happy with their hard work and effort.”

The game started at a slow pace with MCCA up 7-0 with three minutes left to play in the first quarter behind scores by Jasmine Schaeffer, Keelie Kronberger and Nyatuong Majiok.

JDHS junior Gwen Nizich put the Crimson Bears on the board with a shot past the arc, sophomore Layla Tokuoka added two free throws and Kerra Baxter a short jumper as the stanza played out with MCCA up 17-7.

JDHS senior Cailynn Baxter got the second quarter rolling with back-to-back scores inside to cut the lead to 17-11, but was answered by MCCA’s Nyawuow Majoik and Brooklynn Ridgeway for a 21-11 advantage.

JDHS junior Cambry Lockhart, Tokuoka and Nizich kept defensive pressure up and caused two turnovers.

Tokuoka would score off an inbounds play and K. Baxter spun inside for a basket to counter scores by MCCA who would lead 28-15 at the half.

JDHS shot just 24% from the field in the first half and 7% from past the arc while MCCA hit 40% from both areas on the court.

JDSH added more height to the lineup in the third quarter with freshman Athena Warr joining the Baxter twins inside and the changeup put a jolt in the Crimson Bears as K. Baxter stole a ball and C. Baxter hit inside, C. Baxter grabbed a defensive rebound, Warr swept a rebound and fed Nizich who scored.

“We were striving for a little bit more rebounding inside,” coach Nizich said. “Athena knows her roles, knows her job, I told her ‘you’re going in there to get rebounds’ and she did just that. So I was very happy with that.”

MCCA adjusted and Kronberger and Majiok scored off steals for a 32-19 lead.

JDHS’ K. Baxter would hit inside and Tokuoka notched two free throws to answer a pair by MCCA’s Kronberger and the Crimson Bears would trail 34-23 with one period left to play.

The teams would exchange scores to open the final stanza with JDHS’ C. Baxter getting a rebound basket and a free throw and Nizich finding a short jumper, but MCCA still led 42-28.

The Lions would get a shot past the arc by Jasmine Schaeffer who then blocked a Crimson Bears’ shot and retrieved the ball to Ridgeway who drove the floor and scored for a 47-28 advantage.

JDHS’ G. Nizich would counter scores by MCCA as the minutes ticked away, hitting from past the arc three times in a row to keep the Crimson Bears respectable as the game ended 57-37.

“A game like today you just erase the score and just remember the effort and hard work that you put in it,” Coach Nizich told the team after the game. “You did that today and you should be happy with yourselves, the way you finished and the way you never gave up until the buzzer went off.”

G. Nizich led JDHS with 16 points, C. Baxter added nine, Tokuoka and K. Baxter six apiece. C. Baxter led with three assists, junior Cambry Lockhart two, senior Addison Wilson and K. Baxter one apiece. C. Baxter led with four rebounds, Warr three, K. Baxter two, Lockhart, G. Nizich, Tokuoka and freshman Sadie Lockhart one each. K. Baxter had two steals, C. Lockhart, G. Nizich and C. Baxter one each.

The Crimson Bears hit 14-50 from the field (4-22 from past the arc for 18%), 5-6 from the free throw line, had 16 total rebounds, 12 fouls and 10 turnovers.

The Lions shot 21-48 from the field (10-15 from the arc for 35%), 10-15 from the line, totaled 31 rebounds, 16 fouls and 13 turnovers.

“We knew it was coming,” K. Baxter said. “It is much more physical up here, but we just have to expect it. We have to expect everything, every time.”

Kronberger led MCCA with 17 points, Ridgeway and Schaeffer 10 apiece, Morgan Maldonaldo nine, Nyawuow Majiok six, Jayda Pastana three and Nyatuong Majiok two.

Outside the locker room after the game the four JDHS seniors tried to describe what the season has meant

“I think it has been super fun with the combining of schools and everything,” K. Baxter said. “I didn’t know it would be this hard…it’s been fun.”

Emotions set in as the four hugged.

“It was great,” Player of the Game selection C. Baxter said. “We played hard for our last game and really tried to put it all out there, it was fun.”

As players exited the locker room they hugged their upperclassmen.

“The team is a lot of fun, you make a lot of friends,” Mary Johnson said. “One big family… we always try to be there for each other, in and out of basketball. We have so many good memories together and it has just been a love that we all share for the game.”

Addison Wilson fought through her emotions to describe what the team means to her.

“The game means to just keep playing with the teammates you have and play your heart out,” she said. “Play with your heart as much as you can…with the people you love.”

The 4A girls state tournament awards were presented following the final game Saturday night.

Colony defeated defending state champion Wasilla 44-41 for the championship trophy and Wasilla was runner-up.

The 4A Girls State All-Tournament Team were Juneau-Douglas senior Kerra Baxter, Colony seniors Tonya Karpow and Hallie Clark; Wasilla seniors Mylee Anderson and Layla Hays; Dimond senior Evan Hamey; Mountain City Christian Academy senior Morgan Maldonado; Bartlett freshman Kennedi Gaines; North Pole sophomore Jade Skipps; and West Anchorage sophomore Changkadiok Bithow.

The 4A Girls Sportsmanship Award went to the Bartlett Golden Bears. The 4A Girls Academic Award went to the Wasilla Warriors with a combined GPA of 3.86. The 4A Girls Alaskan Assist Award went to Wasilla with 30 assists in their first two games.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.