The Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball team lost in overtime at Sitka on Saturday. Sophomore Cyrene Uddipa hit a buzzer-beater put back at the end of regulation to extend the game.
Sitka held onto the narrow win 47-45.
TMHS’ dangerous freshman Nina Fenumiai — who has scored 34 points over three games this weekend — led her team with 15 points. Uddipa followed Fenumiai in scoring with nine, while senior Ava Tompkins had seven. Seniors Harriet Martin and Siniva Maka each added six points.
Sitka Wolves senior Hailey Denkinger led all scorers with 20 points, followed by junior teammate Zosha Krupa with 13, sophomore Tatum Bayne with nine and sophomore Marlis Boord with five.
Sitka jumped to an early lead, with Denkinger getting to the line five times in the quarter for an 11-5 advantage going into the second. Thunder Mountain trimmed Sitka’s lead to two points by halftime, with Tompkins scoring five points and Fenumiai six in the second period.
Both teams would stay even in the third, and Sitka would retain a three-point advantage going into the final period of regulation. Uddipa hit a three and the clutch put back in the fourth to force overtime.
Sitka would continue to earn shots from the charity stripe in extra time, getting to the line for five shots in OT while JDHS didn’t garner a shooting foul.
Sitka’s ability to earn free throws may have been the game changer. Both teams shot a similar percentage, but Sitka had nearly three times as many attempts: TMHS shot 5-of-9 from the free-throw line while Sitka went 16-of-25.
The Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball team closes their regular season next weekend with two games at Juneau-Douglas High School at 6:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Crimson Bears girls drubbed in Ketchikan
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball team lost at Ketchikan High School on Saturday, marking their eighth loss of the season.
Ketchikan, who is ranked as the state’s fourth-best 4A team, beat JDHS 60-26. JDHS (11-8) is now seven and a half games back from Kayhi in the Southeast Conference girls 4A standings.
Ketchikan junior Alexis Biggerstaff led all scorers with 18 points, followed by senior Charley Edwardson with 10, senior Eliah Anderson with nine. Sophomore Brittany Slick and senior Courtney Kemble added seven each.
The Crimson Bears were led by senior Kallen Hoover with eight while freshman Caitlin Pusich and senior Cristina Arehart added four each.
JDHS started the game soundly enough on defense, holding Ketchikan’s experienced team to nine points in the first quarter. Ketchikan dominated in the second, however, holding the Crimson Bears to two points while going for 25 of their own.
JDHS would find a bit of offense in the third, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome their 27-point halftime deficit. Juneau-Douglas did outscore their opponents in the fourth 9-7, in what was the brightest period of play for the Crimson Bears.
The JDHS girls basketball team finishes their regular season next weekend with two games at home against Thunder Mountain High School at 6:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday. As evidenced by the way Juneau’s two teams have played so far this year, those will be another pair of close games.
Friday’s game: Kayhi 55, JDHS 33
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls basketball team lost an away game at Ketchikan High School on Friday, falling to the Kings 55-33.
Kayhi outscored JDHS in every quarter except the last, as senior Alexis Biggerstaff helped her team to the win with 14 points. Sophomore Brittany Slick had 11, and senior Courtney Kemble had eight. Seniors Charley Edwardson and Eliah Anderson, along with junior AJ Delacruz, had five each.
JDHS was led in defeat by sophomore Cassie Dzinich with eight points, freshman Caitlin Pusich with six and senior Tona Fogg with five.
JDHS’ record now stands at 11-7 while Ketchikan is now 19-2 and ranked as the state’s fourth-best 4A team by the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches.
Friday’s game: Sitka 56, TMHS 42
The Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball team dropped two away games this weekend, losing Thursday to Mt. Edgecumbe High School and Friday to Sitka High School. TMHS is now 2-15 on the year.
The Falcons lost on Thursday by a score of 56-42. Friday’s match ended in Sitka’s favor, 49-21.
TMHS senior Ava Tompkins led her team in their loss against Mt. Edgecumbe with 22 points, while freshman Nina Fenumiai added 13.
Mt. Edgecumbe freshman Catherine Sunny led her team to the win with 12 points. Senior Payton Weisz had 11, junior Andronika Emanoff had nine and senior Zanai Hall had six.
The Falcons went down by 12 going into halftime, but pushed the game back to eight by the fourth quarter. Mt. Edgecumbe finished strong in the fourth, outscoring Thunder Mountain 14-8 to close the game. Mt. Edgecumbe is now 9-8 on the season.
In Friday’s match against Sitka High School, Tompkins again led her team with 15, while Fenumiai added six. The senior and freshman were the only two to get on the board in that loss.
Sitka was led in scoring by sophomore Tatum Bayne with 18, senior Hailey Denkinger with 13 and sophomore Marlis Boord with six.
Sitka outscored Thunder Mountain 33-7 in the first half and it looked to be the Wolves game from there on. Enjoying a five-game win streak, Sitka High School is now 16-3.
