After a fiery first half against Ketchikan, the Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball team came within one play of taking the lead in the second half.
It looked they were going to do it, too.
TMHS senior Andee Johnson scored six quick points near the paint and Taz Hauck nailed a 15-foot jumper to bring the Falcons within one point of Ketchikan late in the third quarter.
But Ketchikan’s Peyton Simmons scored four fastbreak points in under 30 seconds and the Kings scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a 52-40 win on Lady Falcon senior night.
Johnson finished with 13 points —a career-high — making her senior night all the more memorable. Neal Garcia also scored 13 points.
“We all played a really good game even though we lost, we worked our butts off,” said a teary-eyed Johnson. “For my last (home) game, it was one to remember.”
Kayhi’s Hannah Maxwell led her team with 17 points. Simmons contributed 14 points.
Neal Garcia made two early 3-pointers and the Kings looked out of sync in the first quarter.
After falling behind in the first quarter, Ketchikan willed themselves back into the game in the second quarter. TMHS turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and Brittany Slick’s 3-pointer with a minute left in the half gave the Kings a 22-14 lead.
After weathering the TMHS rally in the third, the Kings held the Falcons to 11 points in the fourth quarter.
TMHS lost 41-27 the previous night against the Kings.
TMHS seniors Cyrene Uddipa and Lezille Sagrado were also recognized prior to the game.
JDHS girls
The Juneau-Douglas High School girls fell to West Anchorage on Saturday at JDHS, 49-42, as the teams split the weekend series. The game was tied at 30-all headed into the fourth but the Eagles took an early fourth-quarter lead to pull away.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
