Alaska 3A basketball tournament: Both reigning state champions advance to finals; Barrow girls and Sitka boys punch tickets as well
Mar. 21—The matchups for the 2025 Alaska state finals for 3A division basketball are essentially copied and pasted from last year — with the lone exception being the Sitka boys team, which narrowly defeated 2024 runner-up Mt. Edgecumbe 64-62 on Thursday night at the Alaska Airlines Center.
It was the only semifinal game that went down to the wire and didn't feature a double-digit margin of victory as the Wolves punched their ticket to a state title game for the first time dating back to 1954, per the Alaska School Activities Association's state records.
The back-and-forth battle marked the fifth meeting of the two teams this season with each of the previous four games being decided by five points or fewer, and saw Sitka winning 4-of-5.
Junior Trey Johnson led the Wolves in scoring and rebounds with a double-double that saw him record 19 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Braves had the game's leading scorer and rebounder with sophomore Kaden Herrmann dropping a game-high 21 points and senior Donovan Stephan-Standifer notching a double-double as well with a game-high 15 rebounds and 11 points.
Nome-Beltz 67, Barrow 51
Both teams took turns outscoring each other in this game: The Barrow Whalers narrowly put up more points in the second and fourth quarters, but the explosive offensive outings that reigning state champion Nome-Beltz posted in the first and third proved to be the difference.
The Nanooks were led in scoring and rebounds by star senior guard Finn Gregg, who logged 20 points and seven boards. The performance of the game came from stud sophomore Alex Fruean, who led the Whalers with a double-double that saw him record a game-high 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Girls
Grace Christian 55, Kenai Central 12
The fourth matchup of the season between these two Peninsula Conference foes played out just like the previous three, as the Grizzlies put up 50-plus points and won by double digits. A day after Grace Christian star senior Sophie Lentfer recorded her 1,000th career rebound in a lopsided quarterfinal victory for the two-time defending state champions, junior MJ Van Der Horst reached the 1,000 career points club. Lentfer and Van Der Horst tied for the team lead in scoring with 17 apiece. Van Der Horst finished with a double-double as she also led the team with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Barrow 48, Monroe Catholic 33
The Barrow Whalers are headed to their fourth straight state finals, where they will face the Grizzlies for the third year in a row after pulling away from the Rams late. They narrowly outpaced their opponent by four or fewer points in each of the first three quarters before outscoring them 12-3 in the fourth. Barrow had a pair of players reach double figures in scoring and were led by junior Aiga Unutoa, who nearly had a double-double with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds. The only Rams player to score in the double digits was senior Shannel Kovalsky, who led her team with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Alaska 3A State Girls Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
Monroe Catholic 42, Mt. Edgecumbe 30
Barrow 78, Kotzebue 14
Kenai Central 43, Valdez 39
Grace Christian 60, Sitka 29
Thursday
Consolations
Valdez 48, Sitka 43
Mt. Edgecumbe 49, Kotzebue 42
Semifinals
Grace Christian 55, Kenai Central 12
Barrow 48, Monroe Catholic 33
Friday
No. 4 Valdez vs. No. 7 Mt. Edgecumbe, 11 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym
Saturday
No. 2 Monroe Catholic vs. No. 5 Kenai Central, 8 a.m. at Auxiliary Gym
No. 1 Grace Christian vs. No. 3 Barrow, 1:30 p.m. at Main Court
Alaska 3A State Boys Basketball Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Wednesday
No. 2 Sitka 61, No. 7 Homer 26
No. 3 Mt. Edgecumbe 69, No. 6 Kenai Central 45
No. 4 Barrow 59, No. 5 Valdez 52
No. 1 Nome-Beltz 67, No. 8 Hutchison 19
Thursday
Consolation
Valdez 65, Hutchison 42
Kenai Central 36, Homer 34
Semifinals
Sitka 64, Mt. Edgecumbe 62
Nome-Beltz 67, Barrow 51
Friday
No. 5 Valdez vs. No. 6 Kenai Central, 9:30 a.m. at Main Court
Saturday
No. 3 Mt. Edgecumbe vs. No. 4 Barrow, 8 a.m. Auxiliary Gym
No. 1 Nome-Beltz vs. No. 2 Sitka, 3 p.m. at Main Court
| 1d 6:03 PM ET ago |
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