Wednesday brought mixed results for three of Juneau’s basketball teams.
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé girls won their first game in the Region V Tournament, beating the Thunder Mountain High School girls 54-29 in Ketchikan. The Thunder Mountain High School boys lost to the Ketchikan High School boys 62-54. The top-seeded JDHS boys did not play.
Junior Skylar Tuckwood scored early and often in the contest with six points in the first three minutes as the Crimson Bears took an early lead and cruised to the win. Tuckwood tormented Thunder Mountain with her defense and scored 13 in the first half, most coming on fast break layups.
“She had seven steals and 20 points and didn’t play in the fourth quarter,” said JDHS girls coach Steve Potter in a phone interview.
Potter said the Crimson Bears’ scoring attack was otherwise balanced. Senior Rebekah Grube went 3-for-3 on 3-point attempts and sophomore Mila Hargrave scored eight points.
The win set up a tilt against the No. 1 seed Ketchikan girls. The Thursday night game concluded after the Empire’s print deadline.
“Our goal all year has been to get them, and we’re going to get our opportunity this evening,” Potter. said. “I feel like we’re as ready as we’re going to be for the games.”
Boys bracket
Kayhi jumped out to a 22-10 first quarter lead against Thunder Mountain, and despite some late-game drama, never fell behind.
Ketchikan’s Joeben Lorenzo, a junior, scored 10 points in the first frame. Lorenzo finished the game with 12.
“They came out hot as can be that first quarter,” said TMHS coach John Blasco. “They were very hot to start the game.”
In the second quarter, Clayton Olstad, a junior, helped the Kings maintain an 11-point first half lead against the Falcons, scoring nine of his team-high 17 total points.
TMHS clawed back to within 8 points of Kayhi by the end of the third and came within three points of tying the game in the fourth quarter.
“Our guys didn’t back down,” Blasco said.
Thomas Baxter led TMHS in scoring with 17 points, including eight scored in the second quarter. Sam Lockhart and Wallace Adams also broke double digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Blasco said that Adams was critical in allowing TMHS to launch a comeback bid.
Thursday night, after the Empire’s print deadline, the top-seeded JDHS boys played Ketchikan. Thunder Mountain will play the loser of that game Friday afternoon.
“We’ve got to do it the hard way now,” Blasco said. “We have to win three in two days. It’s an uphill battle, but I think our boys are hungry for it.”
• Ketchikan-based freelance writer Jeff Lund contributed reporting to this article.
Courtesy Photo / Hayley Gilson JDHS’ Rebekah Grube (23) launches a shot. TMHS’ Kiara Kookesh (14) and Ashlyn Gates (2) track the ball. Grube made three of three 3-point shots in the game.
